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PBINTBD BY WBBD AND PARSONS. 

'i%e Vrasl of tho Anns of the United States, was the Thirteen Stars dispelling 
tlw Cloud. The reverse side of the Arms or Seal was an unfinished I'yrannd. 
The likeness was copied with great care and accuracy from Stuart's; the motto 
is from Jefferson's original draft, and the signature, a facsimile of his auto- 
graph, on the Declaration of Independence. 



LIFE AND OPINIONS 



OF 



JULIUS MELBOURN; 



WITH 



SKETCHES OF THE LIVES AND CHARACTERS 



OF 



THOMAS JEFFEKSON, JOHN QUINCY ADAMS, 
JOHN KANDOLPH, 

AND SEVERAL OTHER EMINENT AMERICAN STATESMEN. 



EDITED BY 

A LATE MEMBER OF CONGRESS. 



SYRACUSE: 

PUBLISHED BY HALL & DICKSON. 

NEW YORK :— A. S. BARNES &. CO. 

1847. 



\^t- 



Entered, according to an Act of Congress, in the year 1847, 

By hall & DICKSON, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Nortlierii 

District of New Yorli. 



PREFACE 



BY THE EDITOR 



Independent of the merits or demerits of the style of the follow- 
ing work, or the talents or defect of talents which the writer may 
have displayed, the publishers may with great propriety ask them- 
selves who they can reasonably hope will patronise this book ? 

It is quite certain they cannot expect the approbation of either 
of the two great political parties in the nation ; for the errors and 
faults of both parties in the course of the work are pointed out 
without reserve and animadverted upon with freedom. Nor can 
the publishers hope for the general support of the people inhabiting 
any particular part of the United States ; because the author up- 
braids the northern and western sections of the Union with pursuing 
a cold and selfish policy from mercenary motives, and with a^ polit- 
ical subserviency to the South caused by a love of office and its 
emoluments ; while at the same time he charges the slaveholding 
states with sustaining unjust and tyrannical laws, and grossly vio- 
lating human rights. Even the Christian Church in America, and 
its clergy, with sqme honorable exceptions, the author does not 
hesitate to accuse of pursuing the expedient rather than the right 
course, and of being greatly influenced by sinister motives. But as 
a very slight examination of the book will show that the author is 
opposed to slavery in all its forms, may not the publishers, it will 
be asked, flatter themselves that it will receive the support and pat- 
ronage of the Abolition party ] Alas for the Trade! they must 
not lay even " this flattering unction to their souls," for the author 
charges the Abolitionists with narrow and selfish views ; and as a 



4 PREFACE. 

party, he disapproves of many of their schemes and condemns 
their policy. 

This view of the general tenor of the book and of the state of 
public feeling, it must be confessed, presents an unpromising and 
cheerless prospect to the publishers. But are there not many indi- 
viduals in all the various sects in religion, and in all the political 
parties, who will read with patience and consider with candor, facts 
and arguments, notwithstanding those facts and arguments may 
militate against their own particular sect or party 1 It is believed 
there are, and that they are considerable in numbers, and we know 
that many of them are highly and deservedly distinguished for their 
merits, their talents, and their patriotism. It is to that portion of 
the American public that we appeal. 

It may be said, and said truly, that in the story of Mr. Melbourn, 
as related by himself, there is nothing mysterious or remarkable, 
inasmuch as all the incidents which happened to him, though they 
may not all have occurred to one man alone, have frequently oc- 
curred, some to one and some to another individual. But conceding 
that Mr. Melbourn's narrative may not gratify curiosity or afford 
amusement, because it contains nothing mysterious or improbable, 
it is, in the opinion of the editor, for that very reason the more inter- 
esting. Have the events recorded in Mr. Melbourn's autobiography 
frequently occurred, and are they still daily occurring in our coun- 
try — a country which boasts of its zeal for freedom and its devo- 
tion to civil liberty — a country whose political parties proudly 
inscribe on their banners " Equal Rights" as their motto — and 
shall not the occurrence of such events " excite our special won- 
der ]" 

The remarks and reflections of Mr. Melbourn during the space 
of twenty years, the greater part of which he spent in the northern 
cities of the Union, are, it is true, extremely desultory, and some of 
the conclusions to which he arrived may be considered by the 
mere business man, or the busy and zealous politician struggling for 
place and power, as unjust ; but it ought to be remembered that 
Melbourn belonged neither to the European nor African race ; that 
his African blood excluded him from a familiar intercourse with 
good society ; that he nevertheless possessed a cultivated and high- 
ly sensitive mind ; that he was independent in his pecuniary cir- 



PREFACE. 5 

cumstances ; and yet tliat in reality he had no associates. His 
position was like that which it may be supposed would be the posi- 
tion of a being who was a native of one of the planets of the solar 
system other than the earth, and who should visit this world and 
remain here for twenty years, and devote his time to making critical 
observations on what should be passing among its inhabitants. 

Thus situated, it is not wonderful that Melbourn should occasion- 
ally have taken rather sombre views of men and things around 
him. 

His sketches of the lives and characters of several eminent 
American statesmen, though very brief, will, it is believed, be 
found strictly correct. Indeed the accuracy and truthfulness with 
which he paints, proves that his portraits were drawn from per- 
sonal knowledge and observation. His account of the proceedings 
in Congress when the State of Missouri was admitted into the 
Union, and of the Presidential elections in 1817 and 1824, will be 
admitted, by many persons now living, to be sober and veritable 
history. 

But it is to be feared that Mr. Melbourn has in one respect, if 
none other, committed a sin altogether unpardonable. He has dared 
to applaud Great Britain for its toleration of independent individual 
opinion, and the free expression and advocacy of them, and also for 
the stern and unyielding protection its government affords to the 
personal rights and the personal liberty of each human being who 
places his foot on British soil. 

There is a certain class of American reviewers and editors of 
newspapers, who seem to regard it as the most conclusive evidence 
of patriotism to condemn every thing British, and to applaud every 
thinof American. In fact, it cannot be denied that many enlight- 
ened, and in other respects liberal-minded men, either from early 
prejudice or from a secret desire to pander to the morbid appetites 
of the less-informed portion of the American people, denounce with 
great severity and bitterness any thing said in favor of the state of 
society, the institutions, or even of the philanthropic efforts which 
have been or are being made by either the government or people 
of England. This habit of thinking and acting is unquestionably 
wrong. A man or a people of true magnanimity will always do 
justice even to an enemy. Why, then, should we be unwilling to 



6 PREFACE. 

render justice to a nation with whom we are at peace, with whom 
we have much intercourse, from whom we derive a large portion 
of our literature, and from whom we are descended 1 

It may, however, be true, that from the treatment which Mr. 
Melbourn received in this his native country, when compared with 
the position in society he and his family were permitted to occupy 
upon their arrival in England, his mind may have become unrea- 
sonably biased and prejudiced against the country of his birth, and 
in favor of the one he has adopted. It is, therefore, hoped, that 
the candid reader will make due allowance for the circumstances 
under which Mr. Melbourn wrote. 



LIFE OF JULIUS MELBOURN. 



I WAS born a slave, on a small plantation about ten miles 
from Raleigh in North Carolina, on the fourth day of July, 
1790. It is probable that the accidental circumstance of my 
coming into the world on the great day which is the anniver- 
sary of American Independence, occasioned the day of my 
birth to be remembered in my master's family, and the men- 
tion of the fact in my presence, after I arrived at a sufficient 
■ degree of maturity to understand what was passing, has en- 
abled me to be certain of my age. In this I differed from 
many, perhaps the majority of field-slaves, who are quite 
ignorant of their age. 

My master, Major Johnson, whose Christian name I am 
unable to give, I have been told was a sutler in the army 
when Lord Cornwallis, during the Revolutionary war, over- 
ran the Southern states ; and occasionally performed some 
service in the quartermaster department in the American 
army. He saved a considerable sum of money, which he ac- 
cumulated during the war, and when it terminated, he invested 
the most of it in public securities of North Carolina and other 
states, for two shillings and sixpence and three shillings on 
the pound, which securities, after the adoption of the federal 
constitution, were funded, and became a part of the national 
debt. These securities immediately rose to their par value. 



8 LIFE OF JULIUS MELBOURN. 

and shortly afterwards above it, so that what Major Johnson 
paid two shillings and sixpence for, while in his hands came 
to be worth twenty shillings, and eventually twenty-two and 
twenty-four shillings. He claimed that he had been a revo- 
lutionary patriot who had fought and bled for his country, and 
was an ardent lover of liberty, and a great enemy to British 
tyranny ; and, from his real or pretended military services, 
he was known as Major Johnson. I have, it is true, heard it 
asserted by those who were politically opposed to him, that he 
carried on an illicit trade with the enemy during the war, and 
in return for their favors to him, that he occasionally fur- 
nished them with information respecting the movements and 
strength of the American army, and, that by such means he 
was enabled to purchase goods, which he sold at a most ex- 
orbitant price to his American brethren. But these out- 
givings were probably slanders emanating from personal 
envy and party malice ; for he obtained a pension under the 
law of the United States passed during the administration of 
Mr. Monroe, which he enjoyed till his death. 

My mother was the daughter of a slave of Major Johnson, 
and was born a year or two before the war broke out between 
Great Britain and her colonies. She was a mulatto, and as 
her mother was entirely black, her father must of course 
have been a white man. Major Johnson sold mv grand- 
mother before I was born, but kept my mother. I am utterly 
ignorant of my father, but am certain he was a white man, 
because, although my mother, as I have stated, was a mulat- 
to, I am as white as most men, and indeed whiter than the 
Spaniards and Portuguese; and what is remarkable, and al- 
most unaccountable, I have blue eyes, and my complexion is 
what would generally be denominated light. The only evi- 
dence afforded by my appearance that I am allied to the 
negro race is, my hair is curly, or rather a little woolly, and 
my nose is more flattened than is generally the case with the 
nose of a pure-blooded European. 



LIFE OF JULIUS MELBOURN. 9 

It is, however, certain, that I am one quarter African, and 
although this portion of negro blood has subjected mc to much 
distress and suffering, strange as it may appear, that blood 
is much dearer to me than all the Saxon blood that runs in 
my veins. I shall not attempt to account for this in any 
other way than by referring to the known and acknowledged 
fact, that mothers always feel the most ardent affection for 
that child who has been the most unfortunate, and who has 
given them the greatest pain and anxiety. 

My recollection of my mother is very indistinct. She 
could not have been more than seventeen or eighteen years 
old when I was born. She was kept by my master as a field- 
slave, and bearing a child when she was so young, the fatigue 
incident to her employment, and the scantiness and coarse- 
ness of her fare, rendered her so feeble that she was incapa- 
ble of performing as much field labor as was required of her ; 
for this reason, and as Major Johnson possessed as many 
house-slaves as he needed, he determined to sell her to a 
negro-buyer who was purchasing a stock of slaves to send to 
Georgia, a considerable part of which state was then unculti- 
vated, but which at that time was rapidly settling. This 
created a great demand for slaves in that quarter, and raised 
the price of them in the Carolinas, Virginia, and Maryland. 
The day my mother was separated from me is among my 
earliest and most painful recollections. I was then about 
three years old, yet I remember the dreadful sensations I ex- 
perienced, when she wildly, for the last time, pressed me to 
her bosom ; and can almost now feel her scalding tears as 
they fell upon my face. In a moment she was forced from 
me, shrieking and in the madness of her grief tearing her 
hair; but forthwith her master ordered her manacled. I 
can never forget the chill of horror that thrilled through my 
veins when I heard the clink of the hammer used in riveting 
the rings which enclosed her wrists and fastened them to a 
bar of iron. My poor mother was soon marched off with a 



10 LIFE OF JULIUS MELBOURN. 

gang of slaves, and I have never seen or heard of her since. 
Such was the feebleness of her constitution, that I solace my- 
self with the reflection that, in all human probability, she must 
soon have perished in the damp and chilly rice-fields of 
Georgia. 

I lived in Mr. Johnson's family till I was five years old, 
when Mrs. Melbourn, a widow lady who resided in Raleigh, 
purchased me ; and to her I am indebted for my education 
and liberty, and every thing that is valuable in life. 

Mrs. Melbourn was the widow of Lieut. Melbourn, of the 
British navy, who was killed in the great battle between 
Admiral Graves and Count de Grasse, which occurred short- 
ly after the close of the Revolutionary war. Mrs. Melbourn 
before her marriage had a small estate, which was secured to 
her in the English funds, amounting to £3000 sterling ; and 
after her husband's death she received a pension, during her 
life, of £200. She was an educated woman, and very pious, 
being a zealous member of the Methodist Society ; and there 
is reason to believe that the illiberal treatment which that 
sect, in common with other dissenters, received from the gov- 
ernment, induced her to turn her attention to America, and 
produced in her mind a train of reflection upon the civil and 
religious rights of man. Mrs. Melbourn had but one child, 
and that was a son, who, at the death of his father, was about 
seven years old ; and she was so pleased with the sentiments 
put forth on the subject of the rights of man by the American 
orators and statesmen, at the commencement and during the 
American revolution, that she determined to remove to Ameri- 
ca, and educate her son in the United States. She therefore, 
within a few years after the death of Lieut. Melbourn, made 
such arrangements of her pecuniary affairs in England, as 
enabled her to put in execution her scheme. There were 
few persons in America to whom she was known. She had, 
however, a slight acquaintance with Mr. Gale, a printer, who 
emigrated from England, and who then had recently com- 



LIFE OF JULIUS MELBOURN. 1 1 

menced the publication of a newspaper in North Carolina.* 
This circumstance probably induced her to go to North Caro- 
lina, and take up her residence at Raleigh. 

On a visit to Mrs. Johnson, when I was, as I have stated, 
about five years old, Mrs. Melbourn saw me, and was so 
pleased with me that she purchased me of Major Johnson. 
Her religious and political principles rendered her zealously 
opposed to slavery, and she purchased me with the intention 
of causing me to be educated and giving me my freedom. 
Under her charge I was well provided for, and received a 
good English education. She brought with her from Eng- 
land Lieut. Melbourn's private library, which was remarka- 
bly well selected. It contained, among other valuable books, 
all the British classics, an excellent collection of Ancient and 
Modern History, and the best works of fiction then^ extant. 
To this library I had free access, and from it I derived much 
amusement, and I hope some profit. 

When I was ten years old, Mrs. Melbourn sent me to a 
select school in the vicinity of Raleigh ; but, on account of 
the African blood in my veins, I was not permitted by the 
managers of the school to remain there long ; so that the edu- 
cation I afterwards acquired, was obtained from the instruc- 
tions of a Methodist preacher, who was an almost constant 
inmate of our family, and from Lieut. Melbourn's library. 

Mrs. Melbourn's son, whose name was Edward, when I 
was little more than twelve years old, was sent to finish his 
education at Princeton College, in New Jersey ; and as Mrs. 
M. kept an English man-servant, I had abundance of leisure 
to pursue my studies ; and the boys of my age declining to 
associate with me on such terms of equality as I thought I 
was entitled to, it is probable I spent less time in the pursuit 

* Joseph Gale, Esq., who has so long, and with such distinguished 
ability, been the senior editor of the National InteUigencer, is probably 
the son of this gentleman. — Editor. ')4o -vv-^vj Jf/^ >»*-a. 



12 LIFE OF JULIUS MELBOURN. 

of amusement, and more hours in study, than I should have 
done had I been treated by those white children of my own 
age in such a manner as to render my association with them 
agreeable. 

There resided near Raleigh a gentleman by the name of 
Boyd, then somewhat advanced in years, who was the own- 
er of a considerable estate, and who, during the first part 
of the existence of the state government, had been an active 
and influential politician, but had, for several years before 
the time of which I speak, retired from all public employ- 
ment.* His wealth, his public services, and, more than all, 
the excellent qualities of his head and heart, caused him to 
be universally respected and beloved. 

Col. Boyd's wife had died many years before, and had left 
him an only child, a daughter, who was now about fifteen 
years of age, and a most lovely girl. I have no talent at 
describing the persons of individuals ; and if I had, beautiful 
females have been so often described by writers, (and really, as 
they appear in books, they all seem to me to look very much 
alike,) that if I could describe well, I would not take up the 
time of the reader in an attempt to draw the portrait of Laura 
Boyd. It must sufiice to say, that she was beautiful, and 
that the elegance and purity of her mind increased tlie inter- 
est which was excited in her favor by her personal charms. 

Edward Melbourn, when at home during his college vaca- 
tions, spent much of his time in hunting and fishing with Col. 
Boyd, and soon became with him a great favorite. The 
lively conversation and fascinating address of Edward gradu- 
ally inspired the old gentleman with that fondness for him 
which is not unfrequently produced in the minds of elderly 
men for young men who happen to please them. In the 

* During the revolutionary war he commanded a refjiment of militia, 
and on several occasions distinguished himself for his bravery, and as a 
judicious military oflicer. 



HFC or JCUTs iczi^rruL. 13 

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Laora BfiTTiiL wlucii resaiSed jaiubimuI 

vbi^ Col. Bi^Td eonsefl&Bi - 
as Edvajnl ^uidld coogfiete <:l:.s c . 3es and fe aii- 

niiaed m praesiee nn ooe c^ " ~^~~as. ia one 

j^nr from «&at tim? lie g ^•>1'?^e^ aad 

was gratiied hy ^st-r^x r: . ?: !3t3nots 

of fcis cbss. I : - - 2!? lie letmne : -^^'> 

and lii^ared tlieffe oestdr dae wlole cf tt&e £!2lo«rBag y^air. 
eaJQiTinf fke 5c<. ~ and CaL Bofcd^ anef ^s- 

cmaied h%^ • d^o^iiar. Kcistsed. le 

lei^Itk, *: - - > wasts^^ awaiT, 

and tiba: -r^die a imam- 



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: wfceie he esMBH9£c . ^ -■f' sad 



T 
kec 



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MiSL. '' :a ne ¥¥inr csx ht wis* 



oo tne Si::.ii _,*, - ._ _» . 
onel ^Btgvi and &b? f^ 

^wfflttg Ae bad iwwft? tae 

pcick «if 




14 LIFE OF JULIUS MELBOURN. 

spoke hope and joy. It was one of the fine moonlight eve- 
nings of a Southern autumn. I do not believe the celebrated 
blue skies of Italy excel in beauty that of the Carolinas. 
Mrs. Melbourn invited her visiters to take a M'alk on the 
lawn connected with the garden. She seemed almost gay, 
and as she viewed the scene before her, she repeated in a low 
voice to Laura, those beautiful lines of Milton — 

" These are thy glorious works, Parent of good ! Almighty, 
This thine universal frame, thus wondrous fair, 
t? Thyself how wondrous then — unspeakable I" 

While the party were thus happy on the green, I heard a 
knock at the front door, and hastened to open it. A stranger 
was standing there who inquired for Mrs. Melbourn. I an- 
swered she was at home and I would call her. With evident 
marks of agitation he inquired if she had company. I re- 
plied a neighboring gentleman and his daughter were with 
her. "I pray yuu," said the stranger, "not to think me im- 
pertinent, but for particular reasons beg you to tell me the 
name of the gentleman." I was surprised at his request, but 
more at his manner, which was embarrassed and confused. 
Upon learning that it was Colonel Boyd, he requested that 
the colonel might be informed a gentleman wished to speak 
with him. The colonel, on receiving the message, immedi- 
ately came into the house, and saluted the gentleman, who 
was still standing at the door. They stepped a few paces 
aside, and conversed together in a low voice for the space of 
two or three minutes. Colonel Boyd then turned, with a face 
pale as death, and I heard him say : " I cannot ; upon my 
soul I cannot tell her this dreadful news." The thought 
like a flash of lightning came into my mind that Edward was 
dead. Colonel Boyd, however, in a moment seemed to be 
more calm and collected, and walked into the garden with the 
stranger, whom he introduced to Mrs. Melbourn. " Mr. 
Warren," said he, in a solemn voice, " brings sad news from 



LIFE OF JULIUS MELBOURN. 15 

Edward." "Merciful God!" said my mistress, " what of 
my son ?" The stranger hesitated, and Colonel Boyd stood 
silent and immoveable as a block of marble. Mrs. Melbourn 
clasped her hands in deep agony. " He is dead," said she, 
" and you dare not tell me!" They continued silent. My 
mistress fell back on a seat which was near her. In the 
mean time, Laura, of whom no notice had been taken, fell 
prostrate on the ground ; her father sprang to her and raised 
her up in his arms. She was apparently lifeless. I ran for 
water and gave it to her father, but it was some time before 
she manifested any signs of life. My mistress was still seat- 
ed, but she seemed like a statue ; her eyes appeared glazed 
and immoveable. I knelt before her, took one of her Jiands, 
and implored her to speak to me. I reminded her that afflic- 
tions were ordered by a kind Providence for wise purposes, 
and entreated her, in this sudden and unspeakable calamity, 
to look to Him, who, I had often heard her say, would never 
leave nor forsake us. A flood of tears came to her relief. I 
said, " My dear mistress, your grief and the cause of it is 
great, but do not despair. God is just. There must be con- 
solation, there must be good days yet in store for so good, so 
benevolent, so holy a being as you are." " Never — never on 
earth," said she, " my last prop, my only earthly hope is 
gone, and I must look for quiet in the grave, and comfort only 
in heaven." 

I was myself deeply affected by the distress of this amiable 
and excellent woman. Besides, the death of Edward was to 
me like the untimely loss of an elder brother tenderly be- 
loved ; and my own private grief was rendered more poignant 
when I afterwards learned that the cause of the fatal en- 
counter was, that Edward's antagonist reproached him with 
the conduct of his mother, for bringing me up and educating 
me as a gentleman, who was born a slave. 

Mrs. Melbourn for a lonw time after the death of her son 
seemed prostrated by the affliction. Her grief, though silent, 



16 LIFE OF JULIUS MELBOURN. 

was profound, and her health seemed sinking under her distress 
of mind. I much feared that her corporeal powers were too 
feeble to resist the shock ; indeed I think she would have 
sunk under it, had it not been for the consolations of religion, 
and her firm, unshaken faith that her heavenly Father would in 
the end order all things for the best and for the greatest good. 
Her faith and resignation to the will of God were greatly as- 
sisted by the advice and exhortations of Mr. Smith, a metho- 
dist preacher, a native of Virginia, who spent much of his 
time at our house, and who was not only a zealous Christian 
but a very judicious and discreet man. 

Colonel Boyd felt the death of Edward as an affliction the 
most painful. This young man had become connected with 
all his plans for the future enjoyment of life. His untimely 
deatli had disconcerted all those schemes, and had left the old 
veteran depressed with a feeling of utter and gloomy solitude. 
He often said he felt that he resembled a dry tree standing 
alone in the field, exposed to be prostrated by every gust of 
wind. The deep and corroding melancholy of Laura added 
to the Colonel's depression of spirits, and his anxiety was in- 
creased by the apprehension that her constitution was incapa- 
ble of sustaining her against the sea of troubles M'ith which 
she was overwhelmed. Laura perceived the anxiety of her 
father, and became alarmed at his condition. She justly sus- 
pected that much of his depression was owing to his solici- 
tude for her, and, with the hope of saving the life of her fa- 
ther, she endeavored to appear to forget the death of her 
lover. Time and these laudable efforts gradually mellowed 
the grief of the one, and diminished the gloom and despond- 
ency of the other. 

In the mean while I pursued my studies of general litera- 
ture ; and three years more passed away without the occur- 
rence of any incident worth relating. 

In the winter of 1806, the good Mrs. Melbourn procured 
the consent of the proper authorities, and the deed for my 



LIFE OF JULIUS MELBOURN. 17 

emancipation was duly executed by her. She did this, as 
I afterwards learned, to guard against any legal objection 
which might be raised, after her death, against the provisions 
contained in her will for my emancipation ; and because Mr. 
Smith had suggested to her, that by the law of North Caro- 
lina I was, while a slave, personal property — that is to say, a 
mere thing — and would be adjudged incapable of taking by 
bequest or devise any property she might think proper to be- 
queath to me. 

During the three years last mentioned, Mrs. Melbourn sent 
me frequently with messages to Laura Boyd and her father. 
In the course of these visits I became acquainted with a mu- 
latto girl by the name of Maria, a slave of Colonel Boyd, 
whom he had given to his daughter as a dressing-maid. 
Maria was born the property of Colonel Boyd, and in his 
house. Her mother was a favorite house-slave ; she did not 
live long after the birth of Maria, who was her only child. 
Maria had been tenderly brought up, and taught to read and', 
write, and the use of the needle. 

Her mother, though a slave, was a quadroon, and her fa- 
ther was a white man. Maria therefore was allied to the 
African race only in the eighth degree. I hardly need men- 
tion that the difference in appearance between her and those of 
pure Saxon blood was so slight as to be almost imperceptible.- 
Indeed it was quite so to an ordinary observer. Yet she was a 
slave — a thing — an article of merchandise ! — by the laws of the 
free, democratic state of North Carolina! ! She was about fif- 
teen years old when I first became acquainted with her. 

I am aware that many persons in America, some of whom 
perhaps may honor me with a perusal of this history of my 
life, may feel disgusted and indignant at an attempt to describe 
a female who was tainted with African blood, as beautiful. 
But nevertheless I am sure there are those, both in England and 
the United States, who claim to be competent judges, who admit 
that the most beautiful human forms they ever saw were mu- 

2 



18 LIFE OF JULIUS MELBOURN. 

latto girls, and especially those of Richmond, Va. That Maria 
was one of this description, all who ever saw her admitted. Her 
tall, erect figure, her sparkling eye, her polished high fore- 
head, the intellectual, the kind and affectionate expression of 
her count(^nance, her graceful movements, and enchanting 
smile, were to me irresistibly fascinating. I first admired 
her for the charms of her person, but as my acquaintance 
and my intimacy with her advanced, I loved her for the 
qualities of her heart and the superiority of her mind. Maria 
could not, and indeed did not, have any consciousness of her 
condition as a slave. She knew, it is true, that she belonged 
to Laura Boyd, but her situation with that young lady was 
the precise situation she would have chosen, if the whole 
world had been open to her choice. She was, practically, as 
free as the mountain deer. Laura required no more of her 
than she would have done had her actions depended entirely 
on her own volition, and indeed she was wholly unconscious 
of doing any thing or remaining anywhere by compulsion. 
In the fall of 1807, I communicated my feelings and wishes 
to Maria, who, being a slave, of course had no acquaintance 
with educated and well-bred men, and her own education and 
taste prevented her from the least association with the slaves 
or the free colored young men in the neighborhood. The 
manners of this latter class were rude and vulgar, and most 
of them were licentious and vicious in their habits. I was 
the only civil male person, except the venerable Colonel 
Boyd, Avith whom Maria had ever conversed, and therefore 
she was pleased with me. 

When I made known my attachment to her, she heard me 
with cordial delight, and confessed her heart had long been 
mine. She said she would ask her mistress to consent to her 
marriage with mo. " But," said Maria, hesitating, " what if 
she or my old master should refuse ?" A livid paleness over- 
spread her check, and apparently, for the first time in her 
life, poor Maria felt that she Mas not her own. Now, for the 



LIFE OF JULIUS MELBOURN. 19 

first time, the degradation and misery of slavery presented 
themselves to her disturbed and agitated mind. After a mo- 
ment's silence she added, " But they are too good, too kind — 
I am sure they will not refuse." 

In fact, Maria did not over-estimate the kindness of Colonel 
Boyd and her mistress ; they readily granted their consent, 
but insisted that the marriage should be postponed until I 
should be twenty-one years of age. This was but reasonable, 
and, although sorely against my inclination, I was fain to ac- 
quiesce in this decision, mainly, I confess, because I saw no 
way of successfully resisting it. I was then seventeen years 
old. 

From this time I was a frequent visiter at Colonel Boyd's, 
and I was uniformly kindly received by that gentleman and 
his amiable daughter, and treated, notwithstanding my Afri- 
can blood, more like a relative of the family than a servant 
of a neighboring friend. The countenance of Maria always 
brightened at my approach, and, when with her, I forgot 
every other human being. Thus passed two of t])e happiest 
years of my life. Alas, those blissful days passed rapidly 
away, to be succeeded by years of sutfering and misery. I 
perceived with deep regret and painful apprehension that the 
health of Mrs. Melbourn was gradually declining. The fer- 
vor of her piety increased, but the wound produced by the 
death of her son, instead of being healed by time, was can- 
kering and corroding her heart's core. Although endued 
with holy resignation and heavenly hope, her nervous system 
was too susceptible to endure the sight of an article of cloth- 
ing that had been worn by Edward, or even a book which 
he had been fond of reading. 

In the summer of 1809, a young gentleman from Norfolk, 
Virginia, by the name of Alexander St. John, stopped a few days 
at Raleigh and paid a visit to Colonel Boyd. His father was a 
man of wealth and respectability, and, with Colonel Boyd, during 
the Revolution had served in tlie army of General Washington, 



20 LIFE OF JULIUS MELBOURN. 

and were both personally known and highly esteemed by that 
great and good man. After the termination of the Revolu- 
tion, Colonel Boyd and Major St. John still continued their 
friendly intercourse, and their friendship increased with their 
age. This intimacy afforded them the greater pleasure as 
they belonged to the same political party, both being Federal- 
ists of the old school. In the preceding autumn Major St. 
John had died suddenly, leaving the whole of his large es- 
tate to Alexander, his only surviving child. 

Colonel Boyd received the visit from the son of his old 
friend with great pleasure, and at his persuasion, Mr. St. 
John was induced to remain longer in our neighborhood than 
he had originally intended. He at times showed some traits 
of libertinism in his character, and talked more about games 
and horseracing than was agreeable to Colonel Boyd, who, 
speaking of him to Laura in my presence, after expressing 
his dislike to those little foibles, as he called them, said 
his dislike was perhaps occasioned by the circumstance that 
he had become old and had lost a relish for pleasures which 
might have charmed him when young. " That may be so," 
said Laura, " but I am sure my father was never charmed 
with vicious pleasures." " I do not think," said her father, 
more gravely, " that an indulgence in vice, either by young 
or old, deserves the name of pleasure." " I wish all the 
world were of your opinion," said Laura. " There is cer- 
tainly a great difference," continued she, after a short pause, 
" between Mr. St. John and" — she sighed — " many of our 
North Carolina young gentlemen." 

Alexander St. John had been brought up as a rich man's 
son, and was in fact a spoiled child. His father had made 
liberal provision for his education, but he, by one excuse and 
another, avoided any serious application to study, and like 
most young men of fortune at that day, in Virginia, had im- 
bibed a hearty contempt for the learned professions, and 
indeed for all classes of business men. From habit and taste 



LIFE OF JULIUS MELBOURN. 21 

he had become fond of horseracing, gambling, and at times 
a very free indulgence in drinking. Although he liked rows 
and was sometimes engaged in brawls, he was considered 
what was denominated' a clever fellow. He was very tena- 
cious of the word called honor, and was ready at all times to 
gamble, drink, laugh, or fight with you. 

This young man professed a violent attachment to Laura, 
and solicited the consent of her' father to pay his addresses to 
her. Laura learned the proposal with pain and regret ; the 
more so, because she perceived her father was inclined to 
favor the wishes of Mr. St. John. She knew he would on no 
account urge her to do an act entirely contrary to her incli- 
nation ; his only object was her happiness, and that very 
knowledge rendered her extremely unwilling to refuse her 
consent. But in the whole deportment of Mr. St. John she 
thought she discovered a total disregard to religion and virtue, 
an air of libertinism, and a careless assurance nearly amount- 
ing to impudence, very revolting to her feelings. She con- 
fessed these impressions to her father, which he heard with 
regret. He replied, that she was the only treasure left to 
him on earth ; that on her happiness depended his own ; he 
knew she had once loved an object worthy of her, but he was 
no more : would it be in accordance with her duty towards 
society, would it be wise to bury herself at her age ? Mr. 
St. John belonged to a family of great respectability, of un- 
stained honor, and large estate. The latter circumstance he 
cared little about, as had been proved to Laura on another 
occasion, but it was a circumstance which ought to have some 
weight in deciding upon Mr. St. John's proposal, because an 
increase of wealth would enable them to be more useful to 
their fellow- beings. " You are already," said he, " near the 
end of the spring-time of life, and, my dear child, I will con- 
fess to you that I am unwilling that my family should end 
with you and me." Here his voice trembled, and Laura per- 
ceived that he had touched a string which vibrated through 



22 LIFE OF JULIUS MELBOURN. 

his heart. She was much distressed, and begged her father 
not to press her further at that time, but to advise Mr. St. 
John to return to Virginia, and she would give the subject 
the consideration which its importance demanded, and which 
her love and duty to her kind good father required. " Be it 
so," said he, pressing her hand, " but do not make yourself 
unhappy to please me." 

This last remark sunk deep into the heart of Laura. Could 
she act contrary to the wishes of her only parent, and that 
parent so kind, so affectionate ? St. John was extremely 
pressing for a more favorable answer, and not obtaining it, 
prepared reluctantly to return to Virginia. 

Soon after this conversation Mr. St. John made his ad- 
dresses to Laura, and solicited her hand in marriage. She 
heard him with deep and painful regret ; nevertheless, the 
ardent solicitude of her father that she should be settled in 
life finally wrung from her a reluctant consent, but that con- 
sent she did not yield until she had consulted Mrs. Melbourn, 
who earnestly advised her that her duty to society and to her 
father required her to accede to the proposals of Mr. St. 
John ; and she soon after became his wife. 

It was now the latter part of the year 1809 ; and as the 
cold weather approached, Mrs. Melbourn, who had been 
gradually sinking, in consequence of a melancholy which 
followed the death of her son, and which could not be over- 
come, was attacked with a cough of a character evidently in- 
dicating that her lungs were affected. 

It is a singular feature in the disease called consumption, 
that as the body declines the mind becomes more vigorous, or 
rather the intellectual vision becomes clearer, and the mental 
powers glow with greater and greater brilliancy till the lamp 
of life is extinguished. That was peculiarly the case with 
Mrs. Melbourn. Indeed, her tone of mind, by which I mean 
her fortitude, evidently increased as death approached. Al- 
though formerly she could not endure the sight of any thing 



LIFE OF JULIUS MELBOURN, 23 

which had belonged to Edward, now she directed his wearing 
apparel to/be brought into her room, and also his letters to be 
read to her, which she had carefully preserved. She heard 
them with composure and pleasure. I could see sometimes, 
when reading those letters which contained ardent expres- 
sions of filial affection, a tear start in her eye ; but it seemed 
her main reason for calling for these letters was to prepare 
her mind for that converse which she hoped soon to enjoy 
with her beloved child in another world. 

One day, and it was less than a week before her death, she 
called me to her bedside, and motioned to the servants to re- 
tire. She said she had but few words to say to me, and these 
related only to worldly concerns. Slie wished me to marry 
Maria, and trusted I would "do so. Although both ColoneJ 
Boyd and Laura had assured her that Maria should be eman- 
cipated at any time when it was thought best, and certainly 
when she was married to me, the new relations caused by 
the marriage of Laura to a stranger might produce obstacles 
not now anticipated, and she had thought it better to provide 
in her will the means of paying for Maria's freedom, and 
which Mr. Smith, who was her executor, was authorized to 
pay to me on my becoming twenty-one years of age. " The 
principal part of the legacy I intend for you," said she, " is 
left in the hands of Mr. Smith, as a trustee, until you arrive 
at the age of twenty-five years." 

She died four days after. A great poet has said, that 

" The death-bed of the just iis yet undrawn 
By mortal hand : it merits a divine." 

If Mrs. Melbourn in her lifetime exhibited, as in truth she 
did, the beauties of the Christian religion, her death evidently 
proved its triumph. She was calm, self-collected, and pos- 
sessed in full perfection her mental faculties, and her eyes 
shone with more than usual lustre. In her last moments she 
took the hand of Mr. Smith ; " I knew," said she, " that m.y 



24 LIFE OF JULIUS MELBOURN. 

Heavenly Father would not forsake me in this hour," Her 
last words were, " My husband — my Edward — I come !" 

" Sweet peace and luiinble hope and heavenly joy 
Divinely beamed on her exalted soul, 
And crowned her for the skies with 
Incommunicable lustre bright." 

After her death and burial Mr. Smith produced her will. 
She bequeathed an annuity of $100 to each of her English 
servants. She gave her watch and Bible to Laura ; to the 
Methodist society 'SlOOO, to be paid as Mr. Smith should di- 
rect ; and she bequeathed to me the residue of all her estate, 
amounting in value, as 1 afterwards ascertained, to a little 
more than 820,000. Of this sum Mr. Smith was immediate- 
ly to pay me 8400 to purcliase the freedom of Maria, if it 
should be necessary to pay fur her freedom, and a small sum 
annually for my expenses until I should be twenty-five years 
old, when the whole amount was to be delivered over to me. 

Since the marriage of Mr. St. John with Laui-a he had 
claimed the house of Colonel Boyd as his home ; and he did, 
in fact, spend the winter and early part of the spring of 1810 
there, but in May he went back to Virginia to superintend, 
as he said, his estate in the neighborhood of Norfolk. Laura 
seemed more dejected after her marriage than before ; and 
neither the entreaties of her husband or her father could in- 
duce h'er to mingle in society more than barely to avoid 
treating witii apparent neglect the friends of the family. St. 
John during the winter had shown some slight indications 
that he had not abandoned his habits of dissipation, and I 
thought there appeared a want of cordial good-feeling towards 
him on the part of Colonel Boyd. When in company with 
St. John, there was a formality and a constraint in his manner 
not exactly suited to the relations existing between them. I 
observed, too, that Maria appeared unhappy, and I sought in 
vain to learn from her the cause of her uneasiness. I in- 



LIFE OF JULIUS MELBOURN. 25 

formed Colonel Boyd of Mrs. Melbourn's bequest to purchase 
her freedom, and wished him to give his consent. He seemed 
offended at the overture. " He had," he said, " told me she 
should be free on the day of our marriage, and hoped I did 
not mean to intimate that I doubted he would perform what 
he promised." Of course I could not urge him further. 

As an excuse for going frequently to the house of Colonel 
Boyd, I used to carry him his letters regularly from the post- 
office immediately after the arrival of the mails ; and this 
practice I continued the whole of the autumn of that year. 
St. John had protracted his stay at Norfolk much longer than 
was expected. One evening, among the letters, I observed 
one post-marked Norfolk. Colonel Boyd opened that first : 
wliile reading it he appeared greatly agitated, which his 
daughter perceiving, begged him to acquaint her with the 
cause. He hesitated a few moments, and then said, " My 
dear child, I fear we have been deceived in Mr. St. John ; 
at any rate, it appears from this letter, which is from an old 
friend of mine in Virginia, that his affairs in that state are 
totally ruined." The letter was brief, but stated in sub- 
stance, that soon after the death of his father he had indulged 
quite too freely in dissipation and profuse expenditure ; that 
in less than six months after he came to the possession of his 
estate, he had mortgaged it for nearly one-third of its value, 
an act that was for some time kept secret ; that during the 
last summer he had been guilty of gross licentiousness, and 
had become an associate with the most extravagant and reck- 
less gamblers, who had swindled him out of all his estate, 
and left him in debt. 

Colonel Boyd had the year before been attacked with a 
slight shock of apoplexy ; his daughter was alarmed lest this 
news would discompose his nerves so as to produce a return 
of that fearful disease. She therefore said to him cheerfully, 
" Perhaps it is not so bad as your friend writes ; and even if 
his property is gone, we have enough to live upon, I did not 



26 LIFE OF JULIUS MELBOURN. 

marry Mr. St. John for his money." " No," said her father, 
"you did not marry him for his money, but you married 
him because you loved me, and I urged you to it." " In- 
deed you did not," said she, " you left the matter to my own 
free will and — " " Mighty God !" said he, heedless of what 
she said, " that I should urge my dear child to marry a 
drunkard — a companion of swindlers — " As he said this, he 
rose suddenly from his seat, clasped his hands, and fell dead 
on the floor. 

The scene was awful. I sprang to the colonel — attempted 
to raise hin:J^used friction and other means to reanimate 
him. Alas ! it was all in vain : the lamp of life was extin- 
guished forever. Laura was insensible. Maria made every 
effort to restore her, which in a short time proved successful. 
What effect was produced upon the tender and affectionate 
heart of Laura by the sudden death of her only parent, can 
be better imagined than described. Her grief was silent, but 
it was most intense. The mind which is capable of over- 
coming one great misfortune — the heart which has been once 
lacerated by deep wounds, and whose dearest hopes have been 
crushed — if capable, by the strength of reason, to triumph 
and ride out the storm, acquires additional strength to en- 
counter other and equally severe afflictions. The mind, 
though it may retain its sensibilities, acquires not exactly 
rigidity, but a tone which increases its capability to resist 
prostration on account of subsequent disappointments and 
grief: the flesh that becomes callous after a wound, will be 
less affected by a blow than that which has never been in- 
jured. So it was with Laura : she had survived the de- 
struction of her fondest hopes in the death of her beloved 
Edward, and that experience encouraged her to hope, that 
time, and an humble resignation to the dispensations of a 
Divine Providence, would enable her to outlive the loss of her 
father. 

Colonel Bovd died witliout a will. From that roluc- 



LIFE OF JULIUS MELBOURN. 27 

tance which all feel, while in health, to sit in judgment upon 
theii- own affairs after death, and make a final disposition of 
their property, he had from time to time, and from various 
causes, (most of which were merely pretences, which his 
unwillingness to engage in the business of making a will had 
conjured up,) put it off; although, on the very day of his 
death, he told Laura that he should go to town the next day 
for the purpose of having his will drawn ; that he was ad- 
monished by the paralytic shock he experienced about a year 
before, that he might die suddenly ; that he was alarmed at 
the habits and propensities he discovered in St. John, and 
that he meant to vest his estate in the hands of trustees for 
the benefit of his daughter, to be subject to her control. An 
inscrutable Providence defeated these prudential calculations 
and arrangements. 

A special message was immediately dispatched for Mr. 
St. John, but he did not arrive at Raleigh until the day after 
the funeral. He had not been at home many days before he 
assumed the absolute control of the property of Colonel 
Boyd, all of which, both real and personal, he claimed in 
right of his wife as sole heiress. He put on new airs, and, 
indeed, seemed a different kind of man. He sold a consider- 
able number of the slaves to raise money to pay off the bal- 
ance of debts still existing against him in Virginia. A great 
part of his time was spent at political meetings and horse- 
races, or carousing at a hotel in Raleigh ; and when at 
home, he was ill-natured and cruel to the slaves, and sullen 
and sulky at his own fireside. Thus it was that Laura, while 
overwhelmed with grief at her father's death, was distressed 
with the painful conviction that her husband, in whose abso- 
lute power the laws of the land placed her and her great 
estate — was becoming, if he had not already become, profli- 
gate in his principles and habits, and tyrannical and brutal in 
his character. Flis treatment of me was haughty and offen- 
sive, and he even intimated a wish that I would not visit at 



28 LIFE OF JULIUS MELBOURN. 

his house. Maria seemed more distressed than any other 
member of the family. Mr. St. John's entrance would con- 
stantly throw her into a tremor : the sound of his voice, or 
even the noise of his steps, would make her bosom throb with 
fear. As soon as I could speak with her alone, I reminded 
her of the agitation she had on several occasions manifested 
in presence of Mr. St. John, and entreated her to inform me 
of the cause of it, — which she declined doing. I told her that 
if her situation was in any respect painful, I would have her 
removed to some other place. " Alas !" said she, " there 
are two things which render such a step impossible. In the 
first place, she was the property of Mr. St. John, and there- 
fore could not leave without his consent ; and if he would 
yield such consent, she herself could not leave her mistress 
in her present condition." I replied that there was money in 
the hands of Mr. Smith to purchase her freedom, and that, at 
all events, should be done immediately. " Julius," said she, 
with a deep sigh, " I fear Mr. St. John will refuse to sell 
me." Like a flash of light, it came into my mind that St. 
John cherished improper designs in relation to her. The 
horrid idea entered my soul like a barbed arrow. I said 
no more, but hastened to Mr. Smith, and communicated to 
him my apprehensions, and begged him immediately to apply 
to St. John for the purchase of Maria. He did so the next 
morning, and met with a prompt and peremptory refusal to 
sell her on any terms. In vain Mr. Smith represented the 
solemn engagement of Colonel Boyd, that he would set her 
free without money and without price ; and that, at a proper 
time, she was to become my wife. The excuse rendered by 
Mr. St. John was, that the attendance of Maria on Mrs. St. 
John was indispensable. Having stated this, he immediately 
left the room. Mr. Smith then requested to see Mrs. St. 
John, and explained to her the nature of his business with 
her husband. Mrs. St. John said it was the intention of her 
father that Maria should be freed, which perfectly accorded 



LIFE OF JULIUS MELBOURN. 29 

with her own wishes ; that she would speak to her husband 
on the subject, and she did not doubt he would consent that 
Maria, whenever she chose, should leave the family. The 
next day, Mr. Smith and myself called, and found Laura in- 
disposed. She appeared to have been weeping. Maria was 
not in the room. Laura said she had been disappointed : she 
had been unable to persuade Mr. St. John to liberate Maria ; 
she hoped, however, on reflection, he would be better dis- 
posed. St. John was then in the field, and we concluded to 
wait his return to the house. On his entrance into the room, 
Mr. Smith immediately rose and said to him, that it gave 
him great pleasure to learn that Mrs. St. John did not object 
to the discharge of Maria, which, from what passed yester- 
day, he trusted would remove the objection of Mr. St. John ; 
and he added, that if the price was any object, he would, on 
his own responsibility, double the sum left by Mrs. Melbourn 
for the purchase of the freedom of Maria. St. John's eyes 
flashed with rage and fury. " Am I," said he, " to sell my 
slave at the dictation of a fanatical old woman ? You and 

your whole Methodist gang may go to the d , with this 

fellow Julius, whom you have pampered to cut our throats. 
I will not, for all the wealth of your tribe, sell this girl, — by 
heavens, I will not !" Mr. Smith endeavored to calm him, 
and finally insisted that St. John was under a moral obliga- 
tion to carry into effect the intention of Colonel Boyd. This 
increased his rage. " You scoundrel !" said he, " have I 
not a right to do what I please with my own property ? Ras- 
cal ! do you claim to direct me what I shall sell, or what I 
shall keep ? There stands my roan mare — perhaps in your 
next sermon you will exhort me to sell her. Out of my 
house, and never let me see you here again." We left the 
house, and the next day I received the following note from 
Maria : 



30 LIFE OF JULIUS MELBOURN. 

** My DEAR FRIEND, 

" I am very unhappy. I cannot, dare not, explain to you 

the cause. My poor mistress is very sick. She cannot 

write ; if she could, I would never consent to write what I 

do now. My mistress says we must be married right away. 

I hope you will not think me too bold for writing this. I 

would not for the world have done so had not my kind, good 

mistress told me I must. She says Mr. St. John is going to 

the horserace to-morrow, and that you must come and bring 

with you Mr. Parker, the church minister, as she thinks Mr. 

St. John will not find so much fault with him for doing it as 

he would with Mr. Smith, because he is a Methodist and Mr. 

Parker is a Churchman. I am afraid you will think ill of me 

for writing this, but then I think there is something in your 

heart that will make you forgive your own distracted but 

true-hearted 

"Maria." 

I cannot express the joy with which I read over this artless 
letter. I loved Maria with an affection the most ardent. 
This passion was not excited by her beauty, but by the pu- 
rity of her mind, and the strength of her affection for me. 
It is said that "pity moves the soul to love ;" and her unpro- 
tected, distressed, and forlorn situation as a slave, and — may I 
add, without offending the delicacy of the reader ? — her taint 
with despised African blood, increased my sympathy and 
affection. 

I communicated the letter to Mr. Smith, who witJi me 
called on Mr. Parker, and stated the case fully to him, and 
he entirely approved of the measure. He Avent the next af- 
ternoon with me to the house, and we found Mrs. St. John on 
her bed. I lost no time in expressing the deep sense of grat- 
itude I felt for what she had done. She said there was no 
time for conversation, for Mr. St. John's mare, which he in- 
tended for the race, was found that morning to be a little 



LIFE OF JULIUS MELBOURN. 31 

lame, and it was possible, and even probable, that he might 
return without going to the race-ground. We therefore im- 
mediately prepared for the ceremony, but just as Mr. Parker 
was about to commence, Mr. St. John entered the room. He 
instantly perceived what was going on, and forbid the mar- 
riage ; ordered Mr. Parker and me to leave the house, and 
seized hold of Maria. Involuntarily I laid my hand on my 
dagger, which I then carried in my bosom. May God forgive 
me, but at that moment my soul thirsted for blood. At that 
instant Mrs. St. John rose from her bed ; the fire of Colonel 
Boyd's eye flashed from that of his retiring and mild daugh- 
ter. "I command you," said she to Mr. Parker, " to pro- 
ceed. That man has no right to interfere. The girl is mine, 
and I will dispose of her. What mean you," said she, ad- 
dressing St. John, " by thus insulting the honor and the 
memory of my father ? My lands and goods you have ; I 
do not complain. Have you the meanness to claim the con- 
trol of my own maid ? You cannot, shall not do it. I will 
carry out the intention of my father at the sacrifice of my 
life." St. John was struck dumb Avith surprise; he had 
never before seen any thing in his wife but the most quiet 
submission; for the moment he was overawed. He felt 
" how awful virtue was," and shrunk from the frown of 
outraged innocence. She turned to Mr. Parker, and said, 
with calmness, but with that true dignity which conscious 
rectitude and the triumph of virtue always inspires, " Pro- 
ceed, sir, with the ceremony." He did so ; but the moment 
he pronounced us man and wife, Mrs. St. John fell apparently 
lifeless on the sofa. 

She, however, soon recovered, and though she continued ill for 
several months, the succeeding winter she in a great measure 
regained her usual state of health, which had never been good 
since the shock she experienced upon hearing of the death of 
Edward. 

After Maria became my wife, I continually urged her to 



32 LIFE OF JULIUS MELBOURN. 

disclose to me the reason why she for a long time past had been, 
and still appeared to be distressed in the presence of" St. John, 
and she finally consented to explain the matter to me on the 
express condition that I would promise not to attempt to avenge 
any wrongs or injuries to which she had been subjected ; and 
to this condition I consented. 

She then related to me, in detail, the persecutions she had 
suffered from St. John, which commenced soon after his 
marriage with Laura Boyd ; his flatteries, his threats, and 
finally his attempt at force, when fortunately she was relieved 
by the accidental and unexpected appearance of Mrs. St. John. 
Maria concluded by saying, that she wrote me the note re- 
questing me to come and marry her by the express command 
of her mistress. 

While listening to Maria's relation, I became highly indig- 
nant, and when she concluded, I trembled with rage. I 
grasped my dagger, and my first thought was to seek out the 
monster, and stab him to the heart. Maria checked me. 
She pointed out the criminality of such an act. She urged 
the certain ruin to myself as well as her which would inevit- 
ably follow, and reminded me of my solemn promise that I 
would not take revenge ; — and her expostulations had the effect 
she intended. 

The condition of the male slave one would suppose was 
the extreme of wretchedness, but that of the female is still 
worse. For a female to be the property of an unscrupu- 
lous, sensual, and profligate man, how horrible ! Well might 
Maria say, as she did say to me on this occasion, " How could 
the poor slave endure life were it not for her belief in a be- 
nevolent and just God, and in ' another and a better world V " 

I went home, and wrote St. John the following note : 

Sir— 

Maria has told me all, but on the condition that I would prom- 
ise not to avenge her wrongs. Vile as you are, I shall keep 



LIFE OF JULIUS xMELBOURN. 33 

that promise. But remember — ay, remember — that if you 
again abuse her with your beastly attempts, as sure as there 
is a God in heaven, be the consequence to me what it may, 
you are a dead man. 



A. St. John, Esq. 



I am, &c. 

Julius Melbourn. 



Some persons may think it extraordinary that on the re- 
ceipt of my letter St. John did not complain to the police officers 
and cause me to be arrested ; but he knew I had powerful 
friends in Raleigh — he knew I could command money, and 
he considered that he could not make the complaint without 
disclosing his own infamy, and drawing down upon himself 
the vengeance of the friends of his wife. He was alarmed ; 
for from his knowledge of me he was well convinced that if 
he persisted in his nefarious course, I should execute my 
threats. 

True courage is based upon virtue. The paroxysms of a 
madman and the blustering of the inebriate have no affinity 
with real fortitude. Hence the sordid knave and the profli- 
gate villain are generally cowards. St. John therefore from 
that time entirely ceased making those attempts upon Maria, 
but treated her afterwards in a most inhuman and tyrannical 
manner. Her body was frequently lacerated by wounds in- 
flicted by the blows of this monster, but this she carefully 
concealed from me and Mrs. St. John. 

The events last related occurred in the autumn of the year 
1811, and it will be recollected that I became twenty-one 
years old on the fourth day of July in that year. During 
the winter and foUowincr summer St. John became more and 
more dissipated and irregular in his conduct, while his un- 
fortunate wife, feeble in health and depressed in spirits, 
seemed barely to support a painful existence. Maria was 
her only companion. St. John was absent most of the time, 
a considerable part of which he spent in Baltimore and New 

a 



34 LIFE OF JULIUS MELBOURN. 

York. I made several attempts through agents (for I knew 
a personal application was sure to be refused) to purchase 
Maria's freedom ; but to all such applications he gave a per- 
emptory refusal even to treat on the subject. This state of 
things produced in my mind extreme pain, which was greatly 
heightened and rendered almost intolerable by Maria's giving 
birth to a son, who, according to the laws of North Carolina, was 
the slave of Alexander St. John. Strange law ! I was worth 
at least $20,000, and yet my innocent child, born in lawful 
wedlock, was the property, the goods and chattel of my most 
inveterate enemy, who, if I were to offer him a million of money, 
would be justified, by the laws of the land, in retaining my 
child in bondage. And yet North Carolina claims to be a 
Christian, a democratic state, and inscribes on her banner, 
Equal Rights, as her favorite motto ! I invoke the attention, 
not of the slaveholder, for he is incorrigibly insensible, but of 
the civilized world to this great fact, so damning to the reputa- 
tion of the slaveholding democratic states of the great Ameri- 
can Union. There was, however, one consideration which 
afforded me some hope. St. John was rapidly involving him- 
self in debt, and perhaps the pressure on him hv money 
mio-ht before lonw induce him to sell, for a round sum, I 
cared not how exorbitant, my wife and child. In the spring 
of 1814, St. John determined he would spend a part of the 
ensuing summer at Saratoga Springs, New York. He now 
found himself sadly pinched for money ; his creditors too were 
very pressing ; his debts, which had been chiefly incurred at 
the gambling table and for bets on horseracing, were of such 
a character as he was bound to pay promptly, or lose caste 
among his associates. It therefore became necessary for him 
to raise by a loan a large sum of money. 

There was a man in Raleigh by the name of Return Jona- 
than Fairport, who was a dealer in money, and generally 
called a broker, though in truth the appellation of shaver 
would have been more appropriate for him than the hononi- 



LIFE OF JULIUS MELBOURN. 35 

ble name of broker. Mr. Fairport was a native of Lynn^ 
Massachusetts, and some ten years before had introduced 
himself at the South as a pedler of wooden clocks and sundry 
articles of tinware. In that business he was very successful, 
and in a few years had cleared to himself some four or five 
thousand dollars in ready cash, with which he commenced 
operating by purchasing notes and small bonds and mort- 
gages, and by accommodating the young Southern gentlemen 
with loans in the winter season, to be repaid after the next 
tobacco harvest, with from 25 to 50 per cent, interest. In 
this way, by the aid of Mr. Grip, a lawyer in Raleigh, he in- 
creased the amount of his funds with astonishing rapidity. 
During the war with Great Britain the difference in exchange 
between the South and North became very considerable, and 
before its close rose to 20 percent. ; and Mr. Fairport having 
established a credit at Boston, and a pretty good understand- 
ing with the managers of the general post-office at Wash- 
ington, his gains were enormous. 

Mr. Fairport was a little under the usual size, misera- 
bly emaciated, with a long chin, sharp pointed nose, small gray 
eyes, sunk very deep into his head, a cadaverous complexion, 
and a most grave and melancholy countenance. He was a 
religious man, and a member of the Presbyterian church of 
his native town, and held strictly to the Saybrook Platform. 

Mr. St. John had for some time been in the practice of 
borrowing small sums of money of Return Jonathan Fairport. 
On the present occasion he called upon him and told him he 
wanted to borrow a large sum. " Lack-a-day," said Jona- 
than, " I am just at this time hard up. I have not one hun- 
dred dollars at command. Where in the world can I get a 
thousand dollars ? I am this moment racking my brains to 
meet a draft from Boston of $500." " Pooh !" said St. John, 
" I understand your tricks, brother Jonathan ; you need not 
attempt to play them on me. I know you can command any 
sum you choose. Don't talk to me of one thousand dollars, 



36 LIFE OF JULIUS MELBOURN. 

I want at least fifteen thousand !" Fairport raised his hands 
and gazed at St. John with astonishment. " Fifteen thou- 
sand," said he, " I could not, to save the nation, raise five 
thousand." " D — n it," said St. John, " let me hear no more 
of this ; you know that I know what you say is false." 
" What has Major St. John seen of me," replied Fairport, 
meekly, " which causes him to charge me with falsehood 1 
truly he knows I am a conscientious man." "Ay, that I 
do, and that you are a pious go-to-meeting man ; but," said 
St. John, in a low voice, " give me $15,000, and I will give 
you my bond for $18,000, payable next new-year's day, 
with interest ; what say you to that St. Jonathan ?" Mr. 
Fairport looked intently on a mortgage that lay before him 
for a moment, then clapping his hand on his forehead, said : 
" A thought has struck me, which may perhaps lead to your 
accommodation. There is no man in the state I would sooner 
oblige than yourself. You must need the money very much, 
or you would not make so liberal an offer : now a friend of 
mine in Salem, in the old Bay State, writes me to invest some 
money for him, and has authorized me to draw on him for a 
considerable amount. I will venture to make the loan on 
these conditions : you shall pay 15 per cent., which is the 
usual price for a draft on Boston, and give me a judgment 
bond to secure the payment of the money. If the money was 
mine, I know your standing so well, and have such confi- 
dence in your honor, that I would not of course ask any se- 
curity, but my friend positively forbids my lending his money 
without security." " Have you the impudence to ask secu- 
rity of me, Mr. Fairport ? I will pay the premium for the 
draft, and give you my bond for the money ; but as for giv- 
ing you a judgment as security, you may go to h — for it." 
" Very well, as you please, Major ; I must follow my in- 
structions." St. John left the oflice in a great rage ; but, as 
Fairport evidently foresaw, in a few minutes he came back 
and agreed to give the judgment. They went out immc- 



LIFE OF JULIUS MELBOURN. 37 

diately to Mr. Grip's office, where the bond and warrant of 
attorney was executed, and the money paid. St. John left 
Raleigh about the middle of June, in the southern flash style 
of that day : he took with him two slaves, an elegant pair of 
bay horses, which he drove tandem, and a splendid gig, man- 
ufactured in Boston, and which he had purchased at an ex- 
orbitant price of Fairport. To Maria and myself, and indeed 
I may say to his own wife, his departure afforded sincere 
pleasure. Every thing at the old mansion of Colonel Boyd 
was now quiet and peaceful ; even the countenance of the 
field-slave was lighted up with animation and joy. But 
alas ! the physical powers of Laura were fatally impaired : 
nothing could revive her, or restore to her eye its lustre or 
the bloom to her cheek. In vain did she try to enliven her 
spirits by conversation with Maria, or amuse herself with the 
infantile developments of her cliild. Her mind as well as 
her corporeal powers continued, in spite of all the efforts of 
my wife, myself, and all her domestic servants, to be more 
and more oppressed. 

In the month of August Mr. Smith received a letter from 
the treasurer of Princeton College, stating that upon examin- 
ing the accounts of that institution, a charge had been found 
against Edward Melbourn for one quarter's board and inci- 
dentals, which by mistake had not been settled when he left 
that Institution : the treasurer therefore requested Mr. Smith's 
attention to the claim. Mr. Smith consulted with me about 
it ; and as we doubted whether the accountant of the College 
had not himself committed an error, knowing as we did the 
extreme accuracy with which Edward transacted all his pe- 
cuniary affairs, and as it was difficult at that time to transmit 
with safety drafts for money from one part of the country to 
another, it was concluded that I should make a journey to 
Princeton and settle the claim. I therefore lost no time in 
preparing for the journey, and anticipated much pleasure in 
viewing Philadelphia and New York, those great cities of 



38 LIFE OF JULIUS MELBOURN. 

which I had heard so much, as well as that ancient and ven- 
erable seat of science, Princeton College. For this reason I 
made preparations for the journey with the ardor and vivacity 
of a boy ; but when the morning arrived on which I was to 
leave home, and was about to bid farewell to my wife and 
child, a melancholy presentiment suddenly oppressed my 
mind ; and as I held them to my heart, a chill of horror 
seized me, which was then as now, to me unaccountable. I 
felt that I was bidding farewell, perhaps a last farewell, to all 
that was dear to me on earth. There are probably few per- 
sons who have not some time in their lives experienced simi- 
lar sensations ; and the kind of sensations which are remem- 
hered, generally prove to be presages of evil. It may be that we 
remember only those evil forebodings which happen afterwards 
to be realized ; or it may be " there is a divinity that stirs 
within us," which warns us of approaching suffering and 
danger. I am neither a believer in witchcraft nor prodi. 
gies, yet with the scholar Horatio I do believe " there are 
more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in our 
philosophy." Maria perceived the depression of my spirits, 
and endeavored to cheer me ; but notwithstanding the lively 
airs which she assumed, I saw that something lay heavy at 
her heart. After leaving the door she called me back to re- 
peat to me that she should expect me in three weeks at far- 
thest. But my absence was prolonged ; for on arriving at 
Princeton, the treasurer was gone on a journey to Massachu- 
setts, and I was obliged to wait his return. 

On the evening that my business was closed with the treas- 
urer of the college, a servant at the hotel brought me a letter 
which by the superscription I knew to be from Maria, and 
hastily opening it, read the following words, which were 
written in so much haste that they were scarcely legible. 



LIFE OF JULIUS MELBOURN. 39 

" September 1. 
" Dear Husband, 

" Come home immediately ; my dear mistress is dead ; I 
am sold, and to-morrow shall be carried to New Orleans. 
Mr. Parker will tell yf5u where our little Edward is ; I dare 
not write about it. This letter may be broken open, and 
may never reach you. I shall never see you more, but I can 
die contented if Edward gets into your hands. Adieu, for- 
ever ! May our Heavenly Father take care of you. 

" Maria Melbourn." 

While reading these lines my brain seemed to whirl like a 
top : for a moment my sight failed. I knew not what I did. 
I called for tlie landlord, and told him he must send me to Phil- 
adelphia that night ; but while yet speaking with him, the 
mail-stage came to the door. I instantly paid my bill, mounted 
on the driver's seat, and urged him to drive with all possible 
speed. I stopped neither to sleep nor eat until after my arri- 
val in Raleigh. I heard vague rumors, on the way, of the 
failure of Mr. St. John, of the sale of his property, and the 
death of his wife. On arriving at Raleigh, I immediately 
ran to the Rev. Mr. Parker, because Maria had referred me 
to him, and Mr. Smith was then absent on a mission in the 
State of Missouri, having left home four or five weeks before, 
and was not expected to return until the next December. 
Mr. Parker was fortunately in his study, and he immediately 
informed me of the distressing events which had occurred in 
my absence. 

About the 20th of August, a few days after my de- 
parture for the North, Mr. Fairport received news from 
a Boston correspondent, then at Saratoga, that St. John, 
upon arriving at Saratoga Springs, had set up a style of liv- 
ing most profusely expensive ; that he spent both his days 
and nights in the wildest scenes of dissipation ; and that 
finally he had fallen in v^ith a cans of notorious swin- 



40 LIFE OF JULIUS MELBOURN. 

dlers, who at the gaming-table had robbed him of all his 
money, amounting, as was understood, to several thousand 
dollars ; and that, with a view to retrieve his losses, he had 
staked his horses, equipage, servants, and even his watch and 
wearing apparel, and lost all. Upon receiving this intelli- 
gence, Fairport lost no time in suing out an execution against 
St. John, and directed the sheritf to levy and sell all his 
household furniture, slaves, and other personal property. 
The sheriff thereupon entered the house, lately the property 
of Colonel Boyd, and without much ceremony proceeded to 
seize and make an inventory of every thing he could find there. 
Mrs. St. John, whose spirits were already crushed by disap- 
pointments and grief, enfeebled and worn out with sickness, 
upon learning that the property of her father was all to be 
seized and sold for the debts of her unfeeling and worthless 
husband, sunk under the blow. She was seized with convul- 
sions and died in two days. Maria never left the room of her 
beloved mistress, but continued with her to the last, and fol- 
lowed her remains to the grave. A few moments before 
Laura expired, her senses returned ; she called Maria to her, 
took her hand — " My dear friend," said she, " I am going to 
join my father and mother;" and she faintly added, " My 
dear Edward ; — do not grieve for me, my only distress is for 
you. I see nothing but misery before you in this world. I 
know what they intend to do with you. My last recollections 
arc, a conversation I overheard about you. Oh ! these 
wicked laws of my native State ! There is no help — you 
must seek for comfort in another world — write to your hus- 
band — tell him to come quick." She could not finish the 
sentence, but shortly after breathed a prayer for Maria, and 
her pure soul took its flight. After the funeral service, 
which was performed by Mr. Parker, Maria informed him of 
her situation, and begged his advice and assistance, which 'he 
readily promised. She told him that herself and child had 
been seized by the sherifi', and were to be sold in two days. 



LIFE OF JULIUS MELBOURN. 41 

and to be taken, as she supposed, to the South. Mr. Parker 
had heard that the sheritf had secured the other slaves for 
fear of their escape, and advised Maria to bring Edward to 
his house that night, and he would at any rate conceal him 
until my arrival, believing it would be much easier and safer 
to secrete the child, in case the sheriff would not postpone the 
sale, than both the mother and the child. Maria gladly em- 
braced the offer, saying she cared not for any thing that 
would befall herself, if her child could be safe, and immedi- 
ately after dark she brought Edward to Mr. Parker. On her 
way returning to the house, the thought struck her that pos- 
sibly she might conceal herself until my return, which was 
expected in a few days. As she was about to turn off her 
road, one of the sheriff's officers met her, as he v/as on his 
return from the Mansion-house, whither he had been in 
search of her. He immediately seized and hurried her to 
his own house, where she was manacled and thrown into a 
dai:Jv room in the cellar, and the door locked. 

Early the next morning Mr. Parker called on the sheriff 
and requested him to postpone the sale of Maria and her child 
till my return. The sheriff said he would do nothing without 
the order of Mr. Fairport or his attorney. Mr. P. then went 
to Mr. Fairport, who referred him to Mr. Grip. He next 
went to Mr. Grip's office, where he found the lawyer in close 
consultation with G. W. Johnson, the son of Major Johnson, 
with whom the reader is already acquainted. As Mr. Par- 
ker entered the room, he heard Johnson saying something 
about the high price of yellow girls in New Orleans. He 
knew that Johnson was a speculator in negroes, and it instant- 
ly occurred to him that the subject of their convei'sation was 
the purchase of Maria, with the intention of taking her to 
New Orleans, where her beauty and accomplishments would 
command a high price. The thought filled him with horror, 
and he resolved at any sacrifice to prevent it. 

Mr. Parker stated briefly the object of his visit, reminding 



42 LIFE OF JULIUS MELBOURN. 

Mr. Grip of my circumstances and ample pecuniary means; 
that no one would pay a higher price than the husband and 
father, and urged him to defer the sale till my return, which 
was daily expected. Mr. Grip listened most respectfully, 
and replied mildly but firmly, that his client would probably 
lose much money by St. John, and that he could on no ac- 
count interrupt the proceedings of the sheriff. " Then," said 
Mr. P., " I will myself bid off the mother and child." 
*' Really, Mr. Grip, you ought to comply with the wishes of 
the reverend gentleman ; your client cannot be a loser by it," 
said Johnson, and a significant look passed between the two 
friends. After some further conversation, Grip finally re- 
marked that it was very probable Julius would be at home 
before the sale ; that there were many articles to be sold ; 
that the sale would occupy more than one day, and he would 
see that Maria was not sold the first day ; and in the mean 
time some arrangement could be made. With these assu- 
ranees, Mr. Parker was fain to be content, and he went im- 
mediately to the mansion of Colonel Boyd, in search of Maria, 
but found no one there except a man in whose charge the 
sheriff had left the premises. He inquired for Maria, but 
could obtain no intelligence of her. She was not among the 
slaves, nor could she be heard of in the village ; he therefore 
concluded she had secreted herself for a few days, and the 
good man waited with great anxiety the result. The suc- 
ceeding day, which was the time on which the sale had been 
noticed, he was careful to attend, being apprehensive that 
something might be wrong. On arriving at the house about 
five minutes after the time noticed for the commencement of 
selling, and inquiring of one of the deputies whether Maria 
had been heard of, he was informed that one or two minutes 
before she had been put up at auction, and struck off to 
George W. Johnson.* He resolved to ascertain the truth, and 



* The law which permits slaves to be Eold on execution, which, by the by, 



LIFE OF JULIUS MELBOURN. 43 

at length found her handcuffed and in charge of Johnson. 
Mr. P. knew it was in vain to reproach him, and cahnly 
inquired how much over his bid he would take for the wo- 
man. " I will not," said he, " take any money for her ; I 
beg of you, Reverend Sir, to quiet your conscience ; she is 
my property, and, thank God, the laws of good old North 
Carolina protect the property of all." "Poor Maria was 
inconsolable ; and I left her," continued Mr. Parker, " to 
make known her case, and rally my friends to take some 
means to prevent Johnson's taking her out of the coun- 
try. Every man wliom I addressed was fired with indig- 
nation at Grip and the sheriff, and especially at Johnson, 
whose character was well known. A number of us agreed to 
go in company the next morning, and insist that for a reason- 
able consideration she should be given up. We went early to 
the house where he lodged, but were informed that at nine 
o'clock the evening before he had started with Maria and ten 
slaves for the South. We could do nothing more, and since 
that have never heard from her." 

Upon hearing my worst apprehensions confirmed by this 
narration of Mr. Parker, I raved like a madman. My pas- 
sions were excited to a perfect phrensy. A few moments' 
reflection, however, calmed that phrensy into gloomy despair, 
for it occurred to me that from Raleigh to New Orleans, the 
civil and military authorities were by law required to sustain 
these wretches in the outrages contemplated, as well as those 
already committed, upon my unhappy wife. In the delirium 
of my rage, I cursed the State which could tolerate laws so 
palpably in violation of human rights and the law of God, 



results from the doctrine that " slaves are property," is perhaps the great- 
est outrage on humanity which is tolerated by any part of the system of 
Southern slavery. It wrests, by the force of law, from the humane mas- 
ter the care and control of his servants, and puts men, women, and chil- 
dren, against their will and wishes, in the power of unprincipled and un- 
feeling speculators. 



44 LIFE OF JULIUS MELBOURN, 

and I imprecated vengeance on the perpetrators of these in- 
fernal crimes. 

It would swell this volume to an unreasonable and incon- 
venient size, if the story of Mr. Melbourn were to be contin- 
ued in his own words ; but in order that his reminiscences 
which are contained in the following sheets may be the better 
understood, the editor takes leave to state briefly : 

That Mr. Melbourn, with as little delay as possible, by the 
aid of Mr. Parker, effected the purchsae and emancipation of 
his infant son, and, as soon as this was accomplished, he 
started in pursuit of his wife, taking the same route which 
Mr. Johnson, the purchaser of Maria, had pursued with her 
and the gang of negroes he had bought for the New Orleans 
market. So many British cruisers were then hovering about 
the Southern coast, (for the reader will please to recollect 
that this was in the year 1813, when the last war with Great 
Britain was raging,) that Johnson dared not transport his 
slaves by water, but took them by land, through the interior 
of South Carolina and Georgia, and the then wilderness ter- 
ritories of Alabama and Mississippi, to Natchez. Melbourn 
did not overtake the company until they arrived at that place- 
Immediately on his arrival, and before he had seen his wife, 
Johnson discovered him, and forthwith went before a magis- 
trate and swore that Melbourn was born a slave to his father.* 
Melbourn was thereupon arrested and thrown into jail as a 
fugitive slave. 

In his haste to pursue and overtake his wife, he had for- 
gotten to take with him written evidence of his emancipation. 
He was therefore detained in a dungeon and in chains, de- 
barred from all communication with any human being but 
the jailer, until he could send to Raleigh and procure docu- 



* Mr. Melbourn, being: to all appearance a white man, an oath in his 
case was necessary, which would not have been the case had he been 
black. — Editor 



LIFE OF JULIUS MELBOURN. 45 

mentary proof that he was a freeman. By the kindness of 
the jailer and the aid of money he had with him, he was 
enabled to send a messenger to Raleigh, who in due time re- 
turned with the certificate of his emancipation. But the 
journey to Raleigh and return to Natchez could not be, and 
was not at that time in fact accomplished in less time than 
three months. It ought to have been mentioned, that a few 
hours after the arrival of Melbourn at Natchez, Maria, with 
the other slaves, were embarked on board of a boat for New 
Orleans. 

Upon being set at liberty, Mr. Melbourn went immediately 
to New Orleans. When he came to that city, he learned 
that the greater part of Johnson's slaves had been disposed of 
at auction, but that Maria had been sold for a great price at 
private sale, to a gentleman by the name of McGuire ; that 
in less than a week she was again sold on an execution 
against McGuire, and bid off for a planter, who resided about 
fifty miles from New Orleans, by one Perry, an eastern ad- 
venturer, who was the planter's overseer. Thither Mr. Mel- 
'bourn immediately went ; but on his arrival at the residence 
of the planter, he heard, to his unspeakable grief, that Maria 
had, from the time she was carried there, been afflicted with 
a deep melancholy ; and about a month before that time, had 
made her escape from the house in the evening and drowned 
herself in the river. Though her body could not be found, 
the place where she perpetrated the act had been ascertained 
by the marks which remained of her footsteps on the brink 
of tlie river, and some of the clothes that she Avore from the 
house were found on the shore near where her tracks were 
discovered. A negro woman, belonging to the family, had 
preserved such of her clothes as were found, which she pro- 
duced and exhibited to Mr. Melbourn. Upon examining 
them, he found pinned in her frock-bosom the following 
stanza, in the handwriting of Maria, and which he recollected 



46 LIFE OF JULIUS MELBOURN. 

to have read in one of the periodicals belonging to Mrs. St. 
John : 

" Shall they bury me in the deep, 
Where wind-forgetting waters sleep ? 
Shall they dig a grave for me 
Under the green- wood tree ? 
Or on the wild heath, 
Where the wilder breath 
Of the storm doth blow ? 
Oh, no ! oh, no !" 

" There was now nothing on earth," says Mr. Melbourn in 
his memoii's, " which attached me to life except my son. 
The succession of misfortunes that befell this innocent wo- 
man, without any fault or even imprudence of her own, (un- 
less her last act was a fault,) and her melancholy end, 
impressed me with feelings the most painful ; and it was at 
that time exceedingly difficult for me to reconcile her fate 
with the belief of an overruling Providence, of a merciful and 
just God." 

Melbourn now abandoned in utter despair all further search 
for his wife, and returned, as may well be supposed, with a heavy 
heart and bruised and broken spirit, to Raleigh. There he 
remained until the year 1815, when he became twenty-five 
years old, and when, in pursuance of the directions contained 
in the will of Mrs. Melbourn, he took possession of the estate 
wliich had been bequeathed to him by that worthy and ex- 
cellent Jady. That estate had, by the careful management 
of Mr. Smith, and by a judicious investment during the war 
in U. S. stocks, then 20 per cent, below par, by this time 
accumulated so tliat it amounted to upwards of 830,000. 

Mr. Melbourn having caused that sum to be safely invest- 
ed, and made suitable provision for the nurture and educa- 
tion of his son, determined to spend his time principally in 
travelling ; and in order to avoid the risk he would be com- 
pelled to incur, he declined entering into any commercial 



LIFE OF JULIUS MELBOURN. 47 

business. He had no disposition to form any intimate social 
connection ; indeed, his African blood precluded him from 
mingling in polished and elegant circles on a footing of equali- 
ty, and his own self-respect restrained him from associating 
with any persons on any other terms. 

To his ardent mind the northern cities presented the 
strongest attraction, and he therefore determined to spend the 
greater part of his time in them, not as a citizen of the city 
in which he might sojourn, but as a citizen of the world — a 
mere "looker on in Venice." In pursuance of this determi- 
nation, he actually spent nearly the whole of the twenty years 
following in travelling and in observing men and manners j 
and his reminiscences of the observations then made by him 
on what he saw and heard, are contained in the following 
sheets, written down by him, as it would seem, after he emi- 
grated to England. 

But to conclude Mr. Melbourn's account of his own life, 
we must here add, that after his son Edward left college, 
he solicited of his father permission to visit New Orleans, a 
city rendered deeply interesting to him, because that city and 
its vicinity had been the scene of the suffering and awful 
death of his mother. To this Mr. Melbourn not only con- 
sented, but agreed to accompany him ; and on the 10th day 
of April, 1835, they left Philadelphia, where they then tem- 
porarily resided, for the great city of the Mississippi Valley. 

Upon the arrival of Mr. Melbourn and his son at New 
Orleans, they inquired for, and soon learned the place of resi- 
dence of Mr. De Lisle, the planter to whom Maria was sold, 
and forthwith visited him. 

The residue of Melbourn's history is brief, and therefore 
we shall copy his own words from his manuscript, with this 
single remark — that what he says towards the close of it, in 
relation to the United States as compared with Great Britain, 
may be, and probably is, unjust as respects this country, and 
too highly laudatory of Great Britain ; but when the liberal- 



48 LIFE OF JULIUS MELBpURN. 

minded reader recollects his position in society in the United 
States, and his sufferings under our laws and civil institu- 
tions, he will find, if not a justification of Mr. M.'s allega- 
tions and opinions, at least an excuse for his prejudices. 

Mr. Melbourn, in his autobiography, says : 

Mr. De Lisle was quite an old man, and was brought with 
difficulty to recollect that he had ever been the owner of Ma- 
ria. At length, however, he remembered her, and said she 
was dead. We inquired for the overseer, Perry, and were 
told that several years before he became embroiled in a quar- 
rel, which occurred in a neighboring village, and was stabbed 
by a Spaniard. There was an old female slave who remem- 
bered Maria well. " The poor creature," she said, " cried a 
great deal after she came with us ; I thought it was because 
she had to work in the field ; but she told me she did not 
mind that, if Mr. Perry would let her alone. The evening 
she went away I got some good hominy and carried it to her, 
but she said she could not eat it. She was very handsome, 
and spoke in a kind, sweet voice." I asked the woman if 
she knew where Maria was drowned. She said she did, and 
at my request her mistress permitted her to go with us to 
point out the place. The road passed near the bank of the 
river at the spot pointed out. " And here," said she, " is the 
very tree her frock hung on. Lordy ! how much it has grown ; 
it was then but a bush." Edward's eyes were filled witli 
tears. I stood like a statue, unable to move or speak, — all 
my first love revived in my bosom. At that time how poor, 
" flat and unprofitable seemed to me all the uses of this world." 
The source of my happiness was dried up. Hope itself was 
extinguished. 

We lingered some time around that fatal spot, that last 
trace of my ill-fated IMaria. At length, entering the carriage, 
we rode about twenty miles, and stopped at a small village 
on the road to New Orleans, w^here we designed to remain 
until the next day. The evening being very pleasant, aft* r 



LIFE OF JULIUS MELBOURN. 49 

tea I walked through the village, which was beautifully situa- 
ted on the bank of the river. In returning to my lodgings I 
passed a small brick building, having the appearance of a 
Methodist chapel. A religious assembly were gathered there, 
and were then singing a hymn. To see what kind of people 
were collected on this occasion, and to wear away a part of the 
evening, I stepped into the house. It being quite full, I took 
a seat near the door. Among the singers was a woman in 
the dress of a Quaker, with a hymn-book in her hand, on 
which her eyes were intently fixed, whose features forcibly 
brought Maria to my remembrance. I looked again ; the 
resemblance was so perfect, that, forgetting for a moment the 
impossibility of her being alive, a faintness came over me- 
lt soon occurred to my mind that it was an illusion of fancy, 
produced by the scenes so recently visited. I involuntarily 
groaned audibly. The woman looked up and saw me. She 
instantly turned pale, gave a piercing shriek, and fell to the 
floor. " Mighty God !" I exclaimed, " it is — it is my Maria !" 
Regardless of the proceedings of the meeting and every one 
around me, I sprang towards her and raised her in my arms. 
The congregation was in confusion : some ran for water, oth- 
ers seized hold of me, until at length I recovered sufficient 
recollection to say that this was my wife, whom I had for 
many years believed dead. I caressed her and called her by 
name. At the sound of my voice, so long unheard, she re- 
vived, and uttered a few incoherent words ; every effort 
was made to restore her — but for some time her mind was 
much bewildered. She would cry out, " Take care ! take 
care ! there they come to take me away ! where is my dagger ? 
I will never go alive !" I will not continue a description of 
this scene. She at length became calm ; her first inquiry 
after the return of her reason, was for her child. I told her 
he was alive and well, but dare not tell her he was so near. 
Maria fell on her knees and poured forth a prayer of thanks- 
giving and praise. It was eloquent, because it was the over- 

4 



50 LIFE OF JULIUS MELBOURN. 

flowing of her heart. The whole audience joined her, and 
responded with an audible " amen." Maria was conveyed 
to her home near by the chapel, and I hastened to seek Ed- 
ward with the joyful intelligence that his mother lived. He 
could not be restrained from seeing her that night, and I re- 
turned to prepare her for the interview. I will not attempt 
to describe the affecting scene which followed. Maria was 
constantly distressed by the fear of being discovered ; and so 
long had she endured life without hope, that it was with diffi- 
culty she could be made to believe that I had abundant means 
to procure her ransom, and that no possible danger could be 
apprehended. The reader may imagine how happy and 
quiet that night was the sleep of this long-persecuted being, 
fhis victim of slavery. 

The story of Maria can be told in a few words. After she 
was purchased by Perry for Mr. De Lisle, as I have before 
related, she was taken to his plantation and put with a gang 
of field-slaves, where her fatigue, privations, and sufferings 
were severe, almost beyond description. But even these suf- 
ferings were imbittered by the rude treatment she met with 
from the other slaves. Their hostility to her was occasioned 
by the circumstance that she kept aloof from them. This 
hostility exhibited itself in various ways. Every thing that 
was done wrong, or which was left undone which was re- 
quired to be done, was charged upon her, and she was 
scourged daily. Perry, who had behaved to her with brutal 
indecency, had commanded her to come to his room more 
than once, which she had peremptorily refused to do. On 
the day previous to the evening of her escape, she was told 
by a female slave that Perry had given directions to two of 
the men to bring her by force to his room at eleven o'clock 
that evening. 

From the time of the sale of McGuire's effects, Maria had 
abandoned all hope of ever again seeing me or her child. 
Since she v/as brought to the plantation and compelled to la- 



LIFE OF JULIUS MELBOURN. 51 

bor in the field, with the poor and scanty food allowed her, 
besides suffering daily from the whip of the unmerciful task- 
master, she felt that her life would soon be ended, and she 
reasoned that it was preferable to die pure and uncontami- 
nated, than to wear out the few days which might be allotted 
to her in infamy and wo. The struggle was long in her 
mind, but this last intelligence drove her to desperation, and 
in the evening she silently left the cabin and descended to the 
river, determined to find her grave there. That it might be 
known what had become of her, she divested herself of some 
articles of her dress, and hung them on a bush. The road 
at that place approaches near the river ; and at that point is 
a bluff of land which rises suddenly, so that a person travel- 
ling the road cannot be seen many yards from the place where 
Maria stood. It was a calm moonlight night. She had taken, 
as she believed, a last look upon the earth and sky, and ejac- 
ulated a prayer for her husband and son. At the moment 
she was about to take the fatal plunge, a gig, in which was a 
lady and servant, came in sight. " Stop," said the lady, in a 
firm voice, " what is thee doing ?" Maria instantly recog- 
nised the language of a Quaker, having been acquainted with 
some members of a society of Friends in North Carolina, and 
she knew that they were not only friends to each other, but 
friends of man and of the slave. She instantly ran to the 
carriage and cried, " Save me ! O save me ! I am a wretch- 
ed creature who cannot live, and ought not thus to die." In 
a few words she related to the lady her situation. Mrs. Ben- 
son, (for that was the name of the lady,) with great presence 
of mind, told her to get into the carriage, gave her a cloak to 
cover herself, and advised her to leave the dress hanging on a 
tree, as that might prevent pursuit. Mrs. Benson was the 
widow of a Quaker gentleman from South Carolina, who 
some years before had come to New Orleans and carried on 
mercantile business there, but had died not long before, leav- 
ing no children. His whole estate, which was not large, he 



52 LIFE OF JULIUS MELBOURN. 

gave to his wife, and made her sole executrix. It became 
necessary for her to reside in Louisiana, at least until the 
estate was settled, and not being pleased with the noise and 
bustle of the city, she purchased a neat cottage near the vil- 
lage of La Grange, where she then resided. On the day of 
which we are speaking, she had been to visit a friend, who 
resided a little below De Lisle's plantation, and to avoid the 
heat of the day, concluded (providentially) to drive home that 
fine moonlight night. She charged the boy, a negro, who 
scrupulously obeyed her injunctions, never, on pain of her dis- 
pleasure, to mention to any person where they had found Maria, 
and before morning this long-oppressed but unoffending wo- 
man was lodged in a neat secluded room in the cottage of 
Mrs. Benson. 

The following morning that good woman communicated 
to Maria, whose fears and anxiety had prevented her enjoy- 
ing one moment's sleep, a scheme which she thought might 
save her. The sister of Mrs. Benson had, many years 
before, married a Spanish gentleman, who was a resident of 
Cuba. Mrs. B. proposed that Maria should pass for the 
daughter of that sister, who had. come to visit and remain 
with her as a companion. As the complexion of Maria was 
not darker, nor indeed quite so dark as a majority of the de- 
scendants of the Spaniards on that island, she thought it not 
difficult successfully to carry out the scheme. Mrs. B. fur- 
nished her with suitable dresses, and as she was not supposed 
to be able to speak either English or French, the only lan- 
guages spoken in the village and its vicinity, she was for a 
long time relieved from joining in any conversation which 
took place in her presence. 

The plan was entirely successful ; and very soon Maria, 
who was supposed to have drowned herself, was forgotten by 
Mr. De Lisle and his people. Maria concluded that I was 
dead ; and she conjectured, not without reason, tliat I had 
been murdered by Johnson or some of his agents,, in the 



LIFE OF JULIUS MELBOURN. 53 

neighborhood of Natchez. At all events, she was confident 
of my death, on account of my not coming to New Orleans, 
after having pursued her so near that city as Natchez. Her 
anxiety about the fate of her child was intense ; but what 
could she do ? She dared not attempt a journey of one thou- 
sand miles through slaveholding states. It was certain she 
would, in the attempt to execute such a project, be taken up 
and recaptured, or sold as a slave. Mrs. Benson entirely 
concurred in this opinion. To write by mail to Raleigh was 
equally hazardous. Mr. Smith and Mr. Parker were the 
only persons to whom she dare communicate the fact of her 
existence. The letter might be opened by the postmasters, 
or the gentlemen might be dead or removed ; and if by any 
means her existence was discovered, slavery was her inevi- 
table doom. These considerations, long before I found her, 
had determined her to live and die under the protection of 
Mrs. Benson, and that her secret should die with her. 

I rendered my thanks to Mrs. Benson with deep feelings of 
reverence and gratitude. I begged her to accept of some 
reward, which she refused, but I quite forced upon her a sum 
of money. In order that my long-lost wife might become my 
own property, and that no chances hereafter might be left for 
her last owner or his heirs to claim her, I returned with Ma- 
ria to the house of Mr. De Lisle, and informed him of her 
existence, and in a brief manner made him acquainted with 
her history and my own. He listened attentively during the 
recital, and showed evidence of much feeling and kindness 
of heart. I proposed to restore him the money paid for Ma- 
ria, with the interest from that time, and requested him to 
make a conveyance of her to me. " No," said the generous 
old Frenchman, " you have both had trouble enough — I will 
take nothing." I remonstrated with him without effect ; he 
sent for a scrivener, and executed a bill of sale of Maria to 
me. On receiving it, I could not refrain from taking Maria 
in my arms, saying, " Now, indeed, you are mine by the 



54 LIFE OF JULIUS MELBOURN. 

laws of God and man." She could not utter a word, but her 
countenance was lighted up with a smile, and her eyes swam 
in tears. 

Maria found old Dinah, the female slave who had shown 
her some kindness, and gave her thanks for her services, and 
offers of any favors we could bestow. I proposed to pur- 
chase her freedom ; but Dinah said she was old, and loved 
her mistress, who was now infirm, and needed the attendance 
of an old faithful servant. Freedom would have been sweet 
to her in youth, but now she was old, and chose to die in the 
service of her kind mistress. The old gentleman was de- 
lighted with this answer. I did not urge my offer, but made 
her a present of several eagles. 

The parting of Maria with Mrs. Benson was tenderly af- 
fecting ; her last words to her were, " Remember, my child, 
never again to distrust Providence — never doubt that our 
heavenly Father will do all for the best ; and we," said she, 
looking at me, " shall be convinced of it, either in this world 
or the world to come." At New Orleans we stopped a few 
days, where I proposed to purchase for my wife such dresses 
as became her present condition ; but she insisted then, and 
always afterwards, on dressing according to the custom of 
the Quakers. 

One day a servant brought me a note, signed George W. 
Johnson, and dated at New Orleans jail. He stated, that 
having heard of my being in the city, he took leave to inform 
me that he was in jail on a criminal charge ; that he had 
lost all his estate, was entirely destitute of money, and should 
inevitably be sent to the penitentiary unless he could raise a 
little money to defray the expenses of his defence. He ac- 
knowledged he did not deserve any favors of me, but he had 
no friend to apply to; adding, that my generosity was 
well known, which had emboldened him to make the appli- 
cation to me. Thouoh I regarded him as a monster of vice 
and crime, and in an especial manner despised his meanness 



LIFE OF JULIUS MELBOURN. 55 

of spirit, yet he was the son of the man in whose house I was 
born, and whatever were his former crimes, he was noio a 
fellow-being in distress. I therefore sent him fifty dollars. 
It was said he had wasted a large fortune by gambling and 
dissipation ; that eventually he took chargQ of a faro-table, 
and had been guilty of swindling, for which offence he was 
indicted and then in jail. He was convicted on trial. 

I cannot omit to relate another circumstance which took 
place while we remained in New Orleans. Walking one day 
near the river, a little above the batteau, I saw some white men 
chasing two negroes, who were running towards the river — 
and when they came to it, plunged in. The white men pro- 
cured a boat and rowed after them. The exhausted strength 
of one of the fugitives began to flag, and he fell behind the 
other. The boatmen called for him to surrender ; but he 
seemed to prefer death to captivity, and sunk to rise no 
more. The other fugitive was taken, and, together with the 
drowned man, was brought to the shore. I was so intently 
gazing on this dreadful scene, that I did not observe a gentle- 
man standing near me, who, as soon as the party landed, and 
we came to them, exclaimed, on looking at the face of the 
dead man, " Great God ! this was my own body-servant 
when I lived in Nantucket ; he was a free citizen of Massa- 
chusetts." Upon looking at the gentleman, I recognised him 
at once : it was the celebrated Jacob Barker, who then re- 
sided in New Orleans, but whom I had formerly known in 
New York. His feelings were deeply excited. 

Jacob Barker, though as a merchant, a banker, or a politician 
he may have committed errors, is a man possessed of a great 
soul, of much magnanimity and generosity, of deep and in- 
tense sympathy for misfortune and distress. He is the bold 
and zealous advocate of human rights, and the uncompromis- 
ing friend of the slave. For these Godlike traits in his 
character the recording angel will blot out with tears his er- 
rors. 



56 LIF£ OF JULIUS MELBOURN. 

One day we were discoursing on the iniquity of the laws 
in relation to persons of color, when he related the following 
circumstance. He was walking in New Orleans, and came 
across his old house-servant in New York, chained to a can- 
non-ball by one of his legs, and at work upon the public 
street. He asked his old friend, with astonishment, how he 
came in such a condition ? The reply was, that he came to 
New Orleans in a New York vessel, in the capacity of cook, 
steward, or sailor, and was seized at the moment of his arri- 
val, and imprisoned in the jail during the night, and com- 
pelled to work in the street during the day — and that they 
would sell him as a slave if Mr. Barker did not interfere for 
his relief. Mr. Barker promised to do all he could for his 
afflicted friend, and to visit him in his-dungeon the following 
evening. According to his promise he called at the captive's 
dungeon, and while conversing with him through the diamond 
hole, saw five otlier poor northern sailors, in the same condi- 
tion with his friend, shut up in the same room with him. 
Hopelessly separated from all human aid, they too were to be 
sold into perpetual slavery unless they could enlist Mr. Barker 
in their behalf His sympathies were irresistibly excited, and 
he brought their case before the police, and after a sacrifice of 
several days' time, and an expense of about $35 in each of 
their cases, which he paid out of his own pocket, he succeeded 
in rescuing those wretched men from a doom worse than death. 

After leaving New Orleans I travelled leisurely, stop^ 
ping a few days in some of the larger towns, and, late in the 
summer, arrived with my wife and son at Raleigh. Our 
few friends there received us with the most cordial welcome, 
especially Maria, whom they truly considered as one raised 
from the dead. 

I had now with me, my wife, the object of my first, my 
dearest affection, and my son, who possessed a highly-culti- 
vated mind and most amiable temper. I had also, by some 
successful speculations, and by prudent though not parsimo- 



LIFE OF JULIUS MELBOURN. 57 

nious economy, added to the $30,000 of capital that Mr. 
Smith in 1815 delivered into my possession, so that the whole 
amounted to the sum of $50,000, and yet I was not happy — 
not contented. The cause of my discontent grew out of my 
dissatisfaction with the customs and the opinions of the soci- 
ety in which I lived, and the laws and civil institutions of the 
country in which I was born. This dissatisfaction was oc- 
casioned, first, by the despotism of what is called public 
opinion. 

If an individual, on politics, religion, morals, or the cus- 
toms of society, ventures to express an opinion different from 
the generally received opinions of the community, though 
the law secures him from being, like Servetus, burnt at 
the stake, or hanged by the neck, as the Pilgrims did the 
Quakers, he is, to all intents and purposes, ostracized, he 
is denounced as a dangerous person ; nothing said by him 
is entitled to the least consideration, or rather, if he ex- 
presses an opinion on any subject, it is received as prima 
facie evidence that such opinion and all who concur in it are 
wrong ; his society is avoided as one avoids a person affected 
with a contagious disease, and not only himself, but all who 
speak of him or his opinion favorably, are denounced as ut- 
terly unworthy of confidence or respect. 

Secondly — I was unwilling to live and die in a country 
where the laws sustained and justified such disregard to indi- 
vidual rights, and tolerated such inhumanity as was mani- 
fested in the treatment of myself and my wife ; and more 
especially was I unwilling to spend my days in a country 
which enslaved and treated as goods and chattels — as brutes — 
at least one-sixth part of its inhabitants. 

Thirdly — My son (as I thought) possessed fine talents 
and a mind well cultivated, but the evidence that he was 
allied to the negro race was stamped on his features. This 
circumstance was sufficient, however meritorious or talented 
he might be, to exclude him from all hope of promotion 



58 LIFE OF JULIUS MELBOURN. 

to places of honor or profit, and, indeed, from any inter, 
course with genteel or even decent society among the 
white population of the country. If we should choose our 
residence in any of the free states of the Union, instead 
of bettering his condition, it would in this respect render 
it more hopeless ; for it is a fact, which cannot be con- 
tradicted, that the prejudice against color is greater in the 
Northern, particularly in the New England free states, than 
in the Southern slaveholding states. This last consideration, 
I confess, had more influence on my feelings than any other. 
The thought was too painiul, that my dear and only child, 
whom I knew to be virtuous, endowed with a warm heart 
and with vigorous intellectual powers, should be treated as 
belonging to an inferior race of beings. These considera- 
tions determined me to leave the United States, and pass the 
remainder of my days in Great Britain. My pecuniary af- 
fairs were so arranged as to require very little time for pre- 
paration to carry this resolution into effect. I procured let- 
ters to the American charge d'affaires in London, and from 
several merchants in Philadelphia, to merchants in Liverpool 
and London, and on the first of October, 1835, with my wife 
and son, sailed from New York. 

There was an old female slave to whom Maria was much 
attached, who had been sold at the auction of St. John's 
goods to a gentleman in Raleigh. I had purchased her free- 
dom, and she now insisted on following my wife to England ; 
and she continues to this day a hired servant in my family. 
We had a quick and pleasant passage to Liverpool. There 
were a great number of passengers, among whom we formed 
some agreeable acquaintances. It is true, that on the second 
day out, some ladies from Boston objected to the admission of 
my wife to tlie dinner-table, but the captain, a stiff John Bull, 
soon settled the matter, and the Boston ladies being informed 
that Mrs. Melbourn was a rich Southerner, gave up their 
scruples, and treated her with great politeness. 



LIFE OF JULIUS MELBOURN. 59 

We landed at Liverpool, and after visiting Manchester, 
London, Bristol, and Bath, and, indeed, after travelling through 
most of the counties in England, having spent the winter in 
London, and seen many of the distinguished statesmen of this 
wonderful country, took up our abode at an excellent hotel in 
Warwick, where we still continue to reside. Warwick is a 
delightful town, and contains many excellent inhabitants, 
with whom we enjoy an intercourse both agreeable and use- 
ful. That courtesy and respect which was shown me in 
America in consequence of my wealth, or reluctantly yielded 
as condescending favor and grace, is here rendered to me as 
being my due, as a member of the human family, and an 
educated and enlightened man. The surrounding country is 
richly cultivated, the town of Warwick is well built, and on 
its borders rise the august towers, in all the sublimity of 
Gothic grandeur, of the ancient castle of Warwick, whence 
the " king-maker" in days of yore sallied forth with his thou- 
sand men-at-arms. 

My son, after serving one year as a clerk, has become a part- 
ner in a respectable mercantile house in London, and I have 
advanced him $20,000 as his share of the capital to be used in 
the concern. It gives me pleasure to know that he is well 
received in genteel circles in London, and that the circum- 
stance of his being connected with the African race is not re- 
garded to his prejudice. 



OPINIONS AND RExMINISCENCES 



OP 



JULIUS MELBOURN 



The following sheets contain some of my reminiscences from 
the year 1815 to the year 1835, and also some reflections which 
have occurred to me since I have resided in England. They are 
of course very desultory, and inserted without much order, as to 
time, and without regular arrangement, as respects the subjects 
of remarks. 



i 



CHAPTER I. 

The Author sets out on his Tour to the North — Meets with Mr. St. John 
at Norfolk — Visits Mr. Jefferson — Dinner-party at Mr. JefTerson's — Con- 
versation of Mr. Jefferson. Chief-Justice Marshall, Mr. Samuel Dexter, 
Doct. Mitchell, Mr. Wirt, and Elder John Leland, on lawyers and the 
practice of law, state rights, the capacity of the African race, and 
negro slavery in the United States. 

After I had completed my settlement with the execu- 
tor of Mrs. Melbourn, I made preparations for a northern 
tour, and in July, 1815, commenced my .journey. I had 
heard Mr. Jefferson so much talked of, had read so much 
about him in the newspapers, and so much of his own 
writings, of which I was a great admirer, that my curios- 
ity was intense to see and converse with that great man. 
At my request Mr. Pendleton* gave me a letter of intro- 
duction to him, which was the only letter I took with me. 
Mr. Pendleton, according to my express desire, in his 
communication to Mr. Jefferson stated briefly my history, 
or so much of it as was necessary, to apprize him that I 
was born a slave, and that I was partially of African 
descent. 

I travelled by stage-coach on the old route to Norfolk, 
in Virginia. In this city I saw Mr. St. John. He had 
become corpulent, and was almost incapable of locomo- 
tion, stupid, and brutally senseless. He was a loathsome 

* Mr. Pendleton was a lawyer, who resided in North Carolina, men- 
tioned by Mr. Melbourn m a part of his Autobiography which the Ed- 
itor in the sketch prefi.xed to this work has omitted. 

4 



64 VISIT TO MR. JEFFERSON. 

monument of intemperance, and a lamentable specimen 
of those wretched creatures who ought to serve as bea- 
cons to warn young men against indulgence in idleness, 
intemperance, and vice. St. John, I understood, was sup- 
ported by a small allowance paid to him quarterly by a 
brother of his father. He was sunk so low as to ask me 
to lend him twenty-five cents. I gave him a dollar. 

From Norfolk I went to Monticello, and on my arrival 
there was much gratified to learn that Mr. Jefferson was 
at home. I was conducted to his study, or reading-room, 
where I found him sitting at a table covered with books 
and papers. He rose when I entered, and received me 
with great politeness and apparent cordiality. I instantly 
found myself at perfect ease in his presence. Though 
he was not, and I presume never had been, a handsome 
^man, there was such strong evidence of high intellectual 
power in his high forehead, and in the form of his face 
and head, that I could not fail of admiring him. A phi- 
losophical calmness and a glow of benevolence were so 
visibly expressed in his countenance, and so distinctly 
marked every feature of his face, that while he was read- 
ing Mr. Pendleton's letter, and before he had uttered a 
word, I was charmed with him, and loved him as an old 
and familiar friend. I suppose that part of Mr. Pendle- 
ton's letter, which stated that I was born a slave, and was 
of African descent, excited his curiosity, for he immedi- 
ately commenced a conversation, evidently with a view 
to ascertain the strength of my mind, and to what degree 
it had been cultivated. He inquired of me whether I had 
seen the building then lately erected for the University of 
Virginia, and said he intended it should be free for the 
instruction of all sects and colors. He expressed his deep 
anxiety for the improvement of the minds, and elevation 



VISIT TO MR. JEFFERSON. 65 

of the characters of, as he was pleased to call them, " our 
colored brethren." He then spoke of the slate of Eng- 
lish and American literature, and of some of the most 
eminent authors, whose books generally constitute the 
private libraries of gentlemen in England and the United 
States ; pausing at such points as were calculated to call 
out a reply from me — no doubt for the purpose of ascer- 
taining what I had read, and what reflections I had made. 
I recollect of expressing, in the course of our conversa- 
tion, a very high opinion of Montesquieu's Spirit of the 
Latvs, and of Hume as an historian. He said he thought 
" Montesquieu was too partial to the British constitution ; 
it was his beau ideal of a perfect government, in which," 
said he, " it is well known I differ widely from him. 
Montesquieu, however," he said, "ought to be excused, 
for the British constitution, if that may be called a consti- 
tution which is unwritten, and which concedes unrestricted 
and omnipotent power to the executive and 'legislative 
departments, when combined, was unquestionably the 
freest and best in the world, when Montesquieu wrote. 
There is less excuse for the eulogy pronounced by my old 
friend, Mr. John Adams, on the British constitution, in 
his defence of the American government, because Mr. 
Adams wrote after the elaborate discussions respecting 
human rights, and the principles of government, which 
occurred during the American revolution." 

" Mr. Hume," said Mr. Jefferson, " was a profound and 
subde reasoner, and an acute metaphysician; as an histori- 
an, too, he is very able, and arranges, systematizes, and 
generalizes with great skill and talent, but he wrote to please 
the English aristocracy ; and I think from high venera- 
tion, and perhaps innate love for hereditary power, he im- 
bibed such a contempt for the masses, that he became 

5 



66 



VISIT TO MR. JEFFERSON. 



insensible to liuman rights ; or rather, he seems to have 
forgotten that they had any rights, or if they had, he be- 
lieved that they were utterly incapable of judging of what 
was for their best good. He labors through the whole of 
his history to represent the actions of the masses as ab- 
surd, and to cast ridicule and contempt upon all their at- 
tempts to regain their natural rights. It is painful that so 
profound a thinker, and so able a philosopher as David. 
Hume, should have finally settled down in the professed 
belief that the fitness of things required that an immense 
majority of men should be slaves to a pitiful minority of 
their brethren. His veneration and love for the aristocra- 
cy, increased, perhaps, by his pecuniary interest, (and if 
so, he was mean as well as unprincipled,) induced in his 
mind conclusions which rendered him (Mr. Jefferson here 
spoke with some warmth) a traitor to human nature." 

I remained in the neighborhood of Monticello nearly a 
week, and spent a portion of every day in Mr. Jefferson's 
library, at his pressing invitation. On Tuesday before I left 
these quiet philosophical shades, I received a card from 
Mr. Jefferson, inviting me to dine with him in company 
with a few friends the next day at four o'clock. I went 
to his house and found there Chief-Justice Marshall, Mr. 
Wirt, Mr. Samuel Dexter of Boston, and Dr. Samuel 
L. Mitchell of New York. The Chief-Justice had come 
into the neighborhood on some business pertaining to the 
University, Mr. Wirt was on his annual visit to Mr. Jef- 
ferson, and Mr. Dexter and Dr. Mitchell being on a tour 
to South CaroHiia, so arranged their journey as on their 
way to call on the old sage at Monticello. I was an- 
nounced as a young gentleman from North Carolina, — 
introduced by Mr. Pendleton, who was well known to 
most of the persons present. 



DINNER PARTY. 



<^ It will be recollected thai in the year 1798, Judge Mar- 
shall was a Virginia Federalist, that he was a favorite of 
the then President, Mr. John Adams, who appointed him 
Ambassador to France, Secretary of State, and afterwards 
Chief-Justice of the United Slates. It is only necessary 
to remark, that before and during the presidency of Mr. 
Jefferson, in consequence of political differences, a cold- 
ness had existed between him and the Chief-Justice ; and 
I could perceive for a lime some restraint in the deport- 
ment of the latter when addressing the formery'Mr. Dex- 
ter was, during the presidency of the elder Adams, an 
ardent Federalist and Secretary of the War Department. 
After the election of Mr. Jefferson in 1800, he retired 
from the field of politics, and devoted himself to the prac- 
tice of law, and at the time I first saw him, was regarded 
as one of the most, if not the most eloquent and eminent 
lawyer in New England. During the war which had 
just closed, Mr. Dexter, without abandoning any of the 
political doctrines which he held when in an executive 
department under Mr. Adams, differed from his parly 
generally ; for he thought it the duty of every American 
citizen to support with his influence and money the gov- 
ernment in the prosecution of the war, while the- great 
body of New England Federalists carried their opposition 
to the administration of the general government so far, 
that they discouraged enlistments in the American army, 
and refused to loan a dollar of their money to aid in car- 
rying on the war on the credit of the government. Dr. 
Mitchell was a very learned man, passionately devoted to 
the natural sciences. He had been a Democratic sen- 
ator of the United Slates when Mr. Jefferson was presi- 
dent. He was an admirer, I was going to say an adorer, 
of the late president, because he was a republican, and 



68 CONVERSATION. 

more especially because he was a philosopher. I can, in 
my mind's eye, see the good old Doctor now ; his large 
corpulent form, his fine good-natured, honest face, with 
his well-powdered hair and neat little queue nicely folded 
in a riband suspended on the collar of his coat, seem full 
in my view. Of Mr. Wirt, I need not speak otherwise 
than to say he was one of the most amiable of men. His 
talents are universally known and acknowledged, though, 
to say truth, he was a little too fanciful, or rather the bril- 
liancy of his imagination was such that it sometimes daz- 
zled the eyes of his understanding. There was also there 
one other remarkable man from the North. It was Elder 
John Leland, who sent Mr. Jefferson the great cheese. 
He was a Baptist minister, who then lived in the western 
part of Massachusetts. He was very zealous, both as a 
politician and sectarian, and was a man of some wit. He 
was the author of a pamphlet entitled " Jack Nips on 
Infant Baptism," which had, at the time it was published, 
an extensive circulation in the eastern states, where ques- 
tions of that nature were formerly mooted with much zeal 
and interest. Mr. Leland would have made an excellent 
chaplain in Oliver Cromwell's army. All these talented 
men, then so gay and social, have now gone down to the 
grave, while I yet wander about the earth. 

At dinner Mr. Jefferson introduced the conversation by 
inquiring of Mr. Dexter how the appointment of Judge 
Story to the Bench of the United States was received by 
the people of Massachusetts. Mr. Dexter said, " extremely 
well." Dr. Mitchell remarked, that when Judge Story's 
name was before the senate, it was alleged that, although 
he was a man of genius, he was not a sound lawyer. " It 
was said so elsewhere," replied Mr. Dexter, "and he is truly 
a man of genius, but, in my judgment, he is also an able 



LAW AND LAWYERS. 69 

lawyer. The fact of his being known as a fine writer, has 
heretofore prevented his being appreciated in his pro- 
fession as he deserves. A n:ian whonri the public allow to 
be a great lawyer, they will not permit to be any thing else. 
Had not Judge Story been known to the public as a |5oet, 
he would, before this time, have occupied a higher rank as 
a learned jurist."* "That is very odd," said Mr. Jefferson, 
''but, nevertheless, I believe it is true. If, however, in this 
the public err, the error, in my judgment, in a great meas- 
ure, is chargeable on the lawyers themselves. They have, 
by their technicalities, enveloped the science of law in 
mystery. Justice between man and man is plain and ob- 
vious to right-minded men possessed of common sense ; 
but, according to men of the law, it is to be measured out 
in pursuance of technical rules which they have created. 
It is not sufficient that the judgment of the judge be sus- 
tained by those reasons which strike every man as being 
founded upon good sense. Sir Edward Cooper says it 
must be learned reason. In other words, justice must be 
manufactured by the lawyer, secundum artem, as the me- 
chanic constructs a watch. When, therefore, the public 
become suspicious that the lawyer is pursuing some other 
trade besides tiiat of the manufacturing of justice, it is 
natural they should turn their attention to some other person 
of the same trade who devotes himself entirely to his busi- 
ness." 

" Really, Mr. President," said Mr. Dexter, " I think 
if you will allow your mind to revert back prior to the 
American Revolution, when you were in the practice of 
law, you will perceive that many of those rules you call 

* The reader will remember that this conversation took place in 1815, 
before Judge Story was much known as a judge, and before the publica- 
tion of auy of his works on civil jurisprudence 



70 CONVERSATION. 

technical, and of which you now disapprove, were essen- 
tial guards to the innocent, and very important to the cor- 
rect administration of justice." 

"I admit," said Mr. Jefferson, "that general princi- 
ples^ or rules if you please, ought to be well fixed in 
the mind of the lawyer ; and I insist that in the pro- 
per application of those rules to particular cases con- 
sists the skill and merit of the lawyer. It is the mul- 
tiplication of arbitrary rules, and the rigid adherence 
to them, of which I complain. A large portion of forensic 
debates is about names, instead of principles, or facts. 
The sloop Polly, in descending the Potomac, runs upon 
the sloop Hope, and in a moment ruins her owner. He 
commences an action of trespass against the owner of the 
sloop Polly, and because he has called his action trespass, 
instead of trespass on the case, is cast in the suit, and 
amerced in a heavy bill of costs. This, to my mind, is 
manifestly wrong, and yet thousands of cases of this kind 
occur, and discussions respecting them occupy a large 
portion of the time of our courts and the labor of the law- 
yer. More general science, and more common sense, should 
be mingled with the technical learning of the legal practi- 
tioner. While I administered the United States govern- 
ment I endeavored to reduce this doctrine to practice by 
the manner in which I selected the judges of the Supreme 
Court of the Territory of Michigan. That court was com- 
posed of three judges. I selected for one of them Mr. 
Woodworth of Virginia. He had spent his life in the 
study of natural and moral philosophy, and really was a 
man of great general knowledge." " So he was," inter- 
rupted Dr. Mitchell, " I knew him well. I have read 
his theory of the tides of the l^akes with great pleasure." 
" Though," continued Mv. Jefferson, " I confess Judge 



STATE RIGHTS. 71 

Woodworlh was a little visionary. Another of these 
judges I selected from Pennsylvania. He was a dry 
technical lawyer, and would not believe two and two made 
four, unless you could prove it by an adjudged case. The 
third was a large strong-handed and strong-minded Ver- 
mont farmer, who had, perhaps, never seen a law-book, 
except that which contained the statutes of Vermont, and 
who heartily despised all legal learning. Thus I formed a 
court consisting of a philosopher, a lawyer, and a clear- 
headed common sense Vermont farmer." 

Chief-Justice Marshall, who had sat profoundly silent, 
though I could now^ and then perceive something hke a 
phosphoric coruscation in his keen black eye, now laid 
down his knife and fork, and said, with a sarcastic smile, 
" And how did your plan operate, Mr. President ; did your 
machine go well ?" " Upon my word," said Mr. Jefferson, 
with great frankness, " it would not go at all." " II must 
have been," said Elder Leland, " like a cart with three 
horses hitched to it, one at each end and one at the side, 
all pulling in different directions." At this we all laughed 
heartily. Even the solemn face of the Chief-Justice was 
moved to risibility. 

After this a conversation ensued on the conduct of the 
New England States during the war then lately ended. 
No one justified their course. Mr. Dexter regretted liiat 
the constitution had not vested the national government 
with greater powers in such cases. "No," said Mr. Jeffer- 
son, "I cannot join you in that ; instead of adding, I would 
take from the general government some of the powers it 
already possesses and restore them to the states. I would 
leave to public opinion the correction of the errors into 
which one or more states may temporarily fall. The gen- 
eral government is now too strong. The independence of 



72 CONVERSATION. 

the states may be crushed by it. This is a matter upon 
wliich iny opinion has long been formed, and I do not be- 
heve I sliall ever aker it." " I grant you," said the Chief- 
Justice, " that the general government in time of peace is 
strong — by means of its patronage, in this office-loving 
country, perhaps it is too strong. For here, as all men 
profess to love the people, all men are anxious to serve 
ihem — provided always, they can be well paid ; but in 
time of war the case is far different. Tn a free govern- 
ment there always will be parties holding different and 
adverse opinions. A majority of the people of Massachu- 
setts honestly, as I believe, for I agreed with them, 
thought the last war with Great Britain was unwise if 
not unjust, and wished to terminate it. A majority of the 
nation, equally honest, believed the war necessary and 
proper. Massachusetts, with the other New England 
states, exerted, as she had a right to do, all her constitu- 
tional power to place the national government in a con- 
dition which would induce it to make peace. The states 
severally possess all the attributes of independent govern- 
ments. Each stale has a legislative and executive depart- 
ment ; it has a treasury — a judiciary — by means of its 
chartered banks it has, in effect, the power of coining mo- 
ney — and it has in its militia, whose officers it appoints, 
'an organized army. The New England states therefore 
had all the means, if I may so express myself, of legal- 
izing rebellion against the general government. They 
refused, as they had constitutionally the right to do, to 
loan their money to the nation, and in consequence of it 
the money of the nation, in the shape of a balance of ac- 
counts, flowed into their coffers and was there hoarded. 
When the news of peace arrived the credit of the general 
government was prostrate, its regular army was reduced 



SLAVERY, 73 

to less llian eight thousand effective men, and it could not 
recruit that army because the national treasury was bank- 
rupt, and not a dollar in coin could be furnished to pay to 
the soldier. Hence it is most evident, from experience as 
well as from reasoning, that the more power you confer 
on the individual states the more you weaken the defen- 
sive power of the nation, and the more you endanger a 
division of the Union." Before Mr. Jefferson had time 
to begin a reply, Mr. Dexter said " he did not apprehend 
any danger of a separation of the states from any differ- 
ence of opinion as to the ordinary measures of govern- 
ment. The people of every state are strongly attached 
to the Union, and to prevent a division, both parties will 
always yield a little. Public opinion will force leading 
politicians into a compromise But there is one evil," con- 
tinued Mr. Dexter, " from which I apprehend that dreadful 
result — I mean slavery in the southern states and the 
slave representation." 

" Oh," said Mr. Jefferson, " dismiss your fears on that 
subject, slavery will soon be abolished in all the states." 

" Never," said Judge Marshall," never by the voluntary 
consent of the slaveholding states." 

" 1 regret," replied Mr. Jefferson, " that so attentive an 
observer as you are, Chief-Justice, should entertain such 
an opinion. I well know that at the time American Inde- 
pendence was declared, no member, either north or south, 
expected that slavery would continue as long as it has." 

" 1 can well believe that," said Mr. Wirt, " for they 
must have felt that the continuance of slavery was directly 
adverse to their declaration, that all men are born free 
and equal, &c." 

" But," said Dr. Mitchell, " I very much doubt whether, 
according to the laws of nature, the Africans are not 



74 



CONVERSATION. 



formed lo be subject to tlie Caucasian race. From my 
own observations I am satisfied tliat nature has formed an 
essential difference between the two races, and much to 
the disadvantage of the negro race." 

Here the learned Doctor went into an elaborate descrip- 
tion of the brain, which, he said, was the source of intel- 
lectual power. He spoke of the connection of the brain 
with the nervous system, and of his discoveries in the 
dissection of the heads of several negroes which he had 
superintended, and pointed out the difference in the de- 
velopment, size, and quality, between the brain of the ne- 
gro and the white man, and insisted that the brain of the 
former was not so capable of producing intellectual power 
as that of the latter, — so, said the Doctor, if your position, 
that all men are born equal is politically true, it is physi- 
cally false. 

" As regards personal rights," said Mr. Jefferson, "it 
seems to me most palpably absurd, that the individual 
rights of volition and locomotion should depend on the de- 
gree of intellectual power possessed by the individual. I 
should hardly be willing to subscribe to the doctrine, that 
because the Chief-Justice has a stronger mind or a more 
capacious and better formed brain than I, that therefore 
he has a right to make me his slave. But, Doctor," con- 
tinued Mr. Jefferson, "may not the diet and exercise^ 
bodily and mentally of a cliild, produce some effect on the 
size, shape, and quality of the brain ? I will suppose that 
myfriend,Mr. Dexter, has two sons, the eldest of whom shall 
be six years old, as nearly alike as brothers of the age of five 
and six years generally are. Suppose the younger to be 
transferred to a rice plantation in South Carolina, placed 
in a negro cabin, and brought up with the field-slaves, asso- 
ciating only with them ; and that the elder should be con- 



CONVERSAflON. 75 

tinued in Mr. Dexter's family, associate with none but 
liighly intellectual people ; then let his education be com- 
pleted by four years' residence and tuition at Cambridge. 
Look at the heads and faces of these boys when they 
shall respectively arrive at mature age, and then let a 
phrenologist. Doctor Spurzheim, if you please, pronounce 
upon the native intellectual power of each. Do we not 
all know that the difference would be immense ? But to 
do justice to the negro race, and in order to carry out the 
experiment fairly, we ought to suppose that the younger 
has married a Caucasian slave ; and let Dr. Mitchell dis- 
sect and compare the heads of the great-grandchildren of 
that issue with the great-grandchildren of the issue of the 
elder brother. I ask, what would be the result of that - 
experiment ?" 

" I do not mean to advocate slavery," said the Chief- 
Justice — " I wish, from my soul I wish it was abolished ; 
but when we calculate on political results, we must look 
at society as it is. I do not found my opinion on the per- 
petuity of slavery upon any natural inferiority of the ne- 
gro. You are all well aware, that nearly every man at 
the South, who possesses any influence at our elections, 
is a slaveholder — and hence our legislators will be slave- 
holders, or under their influence. Probably nine-tenths 
of them will be actual slaveholders. You have then a 
pecuniary influence to contend with, which you cannot 
overcome except by force. Slaves are by law property ; 
and do you expect that a man will, voluntarily and without 
consideration, surrender his property to individuals, or to 
the public ? The British Parliament may, and probably 
will, abolish slavery in the West India islands ; but sup- 
pose nine-tenths of that parliament should be composed 
of the planters of Jamaica — when, then, would slavery be 



76 CAPACITY OF THE AFRICANS. 

abolished in Jamaica ? Mr. Dexter will, I presume, ad- 
mit that banking is a monopoly, and that monopolies 
ought not to be tolerated ; but will Mr. Dexter give up 
and sacrifice his bank-stock ? I tell you, sir, you may as 
well expect that the farmers of Virginia will burn up their 
title deeds and give away their farms, as to give away their 
negroes. You, Mr. President, ascribe too much virtue and 
benevolence to our people, if you suppose the disposition 
to emancipate the negroes is increasing. You must recol- 
lect, that at the commencement of the Revolution, Chan- 
cellor Wythe and yourself were deterred from introducing a 
bill into the legislature for the abolition of slavery, be- 
cause you became satisfied that the time had not then 
come when the public mind was prepared for the adoption 
of that measure, but you then anticipated that it would soon 
be reviewed more favorably by the community ; your ex- 
pectations, however, were not realized. And at this mo- 
ment I venture to affirm, that a bill for negro emancipation 
would meet with a prompt and indignant condemnation. 
I repeat, that interest, pecuniary interest, will forever pre- 
vent the emancipation of the slave at the south. I do not 
say the slave ought not to be emancipated — I say he will 
not be emancipated." 

" And I," said Mr. Leland, " say he ought not to be eman- 
cipated. I do not predicate my opinion on the anatomical 
discoveries of Dr. Mitchell, but I think the negroes are 
the children of Ham, and according to the Bible, they are 
doomed to be the servant of servants. Besides, I am con- 
vinced, from my own observation, and I have had a pretty 
good opportunity to observe, for I was two years a mis- 
sionary in the slaveholding states for a Massachusetts 
Baptist association, that the blacks are altogether inferior 
to the whites. They are, I assure you, low-minded, and 



CONVERSATION. 77 

beastly in their propensities. They desire nothing but to 
eat, drink, fiddle, laugh, sleep, and dance. For my part, 
I regard them as a mongrel species, half man and half 
ape." 

While Mr. Leland was making these remarks, I could 
not avoid the reflection, that in this instance, as in many 
others, the visionary though learned philosopher, and the 
fanatical zealot, arrived, by an entirely different process 
of menial action, to the same conclusion. Extremes fre- 
quently approach near each other. I was roused from the 
revery occasioned by this train of thought, by Mr. Jeffer- 
son saying to Mr. Leland, — " I am happy to have it in 
my power at this moment to prove to you and Dr. 
Mitchell, by ocular demonstration, that the experience of 
one of you and the theory of the other, has led you to er- 
roneous conclusions. Look at the young gentleman who 
sits opposite to you. In the mean lime," continued he, 
" Mr. Melbourn, allow me the pleasure of drinking a 
glass of wine with you. Mr. Melbourn," added Mr. Jef- 
ferson, " was born a slave, and is of African descent, 
though he has considerable Saxon blood in his veins. He 
was enfranchised by a pious and benevolent lady, and is 
now a man of wealth. He has by his own efforts and 
industry cultivated and well-improved his mind — a mind 
which I religiously believe, your missionary observations, 
friend Leland, and Doctor Mitchell's dissections to the 
contrary notwithstanding, is of the first order of human 
intellects." 

I was much embarrassed at this compliment from so 
great a man as Mr. Jefferson, and I presume appeared 
quite awkward. The whole company gazed on me with 
astonishment. The piercing eye of the Chief-Justice in 
particular, I perceived was fixed most intensely upon me. 



78 CITY OF WASHINGTON IN 1815. 

Mr. Jefferson then related some part of my history, (for I 
had previously told him my story,) and he animadverted 
with great severity on the treatment I had received at 
Natchez, and upon the laws which legalized that treat- 
ment. While he was talking, I perceived Mr. Wirt's 
countenance several times redden with apparent indigna- 
tion. It was now late, and J took my leave ; but as I 
was retiring, Mr. Wirt followed me into the hall, and, 
taking me by the hand, expressed a desire to continue his 
acquaintance with me. " I am mortified and ashamed," 
said he, " that this glorious country sustains such laws as 
those under which you have suffered." 

The next morning I proceeded on my journey north- 
ward. 



CHAPTER II. 



City of Washington in 1815 — Contrast between Maryland and Pennsyl- 
vania — City Hotel in New York — Wiilard, the Bar-keeper — Prejudice 
against Colored People in the Free States — The Author, after visiting 
New York and Albany, returns to Washington. 

On my way north I passed through the city of Wash- 
ington, which, though called a city, was then a mere 
cluster of villages. Blocks of some eight or ten houses, 
with large spaces between each block, were scattered 
over a territory of three or four miles in extent, and a 
mile or two in breadth. The streets were muddy, and 
oven the main street, Pennsylvania Avenue, was not 
paved. The president's house and the two wings of the 
Capitol (the centre building had not llicn been constructed) 
had lately been blown u]) l)y the British ; a circumstance 



MARYLAND AND PENNSYLVANIA. 79 

which added greatly to the appearance of desolation and 
ruin which the scene presented to^ the eye of the 
traveller. 

From Washington I went to the beautiful and busy city 
of Baltimore, and from thence, for the sake of enjoying a 
better view of the country, I travelled by stage-coach 
through Lancaster to Philadelphia. When I arrived at 
the line of Pennsylvania, I needed no guide to inform me 
where that line was. Did my reader ever see a native 
forest, part of which had been scathed by what is called 
a fire in the woods, and the other part left untouched by 
the destructive element ? If so, he may form some idea 
of the difference between the appearance of a country 
cultivated by slave, and one cultivated by free labor. The 
land of Penn was divided into small farms, well fenced, 
generally with stone wall. On each farm was to be seen 
a neat and comfortable farmhouse, and also a barn built 
of stone, fit for a dwelling-house. The eye was charmed 
with the view of orchards bending with various kinds of 
fruit, and fields richly loaded with grain. On the other 
hand, and immediately adjoining, were extensive plains, 
uncultivated, except with now and then a large cornfield. 
You might also perceive a few old mansion-houses at the 
distance of a mile or two from each other. These houses 
were some of them built of logs, which appeared to have 
been placed in the building in the time of Lord Balti- 
more. Scarcely a barn could be seen, and those which 
could be discovered, were in a most ruinous condition. 
You might also descry in the neighborhood of a mansion- 
house two or three negro-huts, with a few half-naked ne- 
groes, male and female, old and young, straggling in the 
fields, or sauntering about their huts. Scarcely any thing 
deserving the name of fences was to be seen, but' now 



80 NEW YORK CITY HOTEL. 

and then might be observed, ditches in lieu of fences. 
Could the late Lord Baltimore, thought I, now visit his 
favorite colony, and witness these blighting effects of 
slavery, how would his benevolent heart sink within 
him !* 

I spent about four weeks in the city of Philadelphia, 
and from thence went to New York ; and there and at Al- 
bany, which is situated at the head of tide-water on the 
Hudson river — the finest navigable river of its lengtii in 
the world — I remained the whole of the summer, and un- 
til late in the fall. 

At New York I took up my residence at the City Hotel, 
at that time kept by Mr. Gibson, then and now one of the 
best, if not the best hotel in America. I say if not the 
best, because, although there are other public houses in 
the United States, more magnificendy furnished, and 
whose tables are more sumptuously supplied, yet the or- 
dinaries of the City Hotel can hardly be exceeded for 
richness and variety of food and excellent wines. But 
the particular reason of my preference of the City Hotel, 
is that, while in almost every other public boarding-house 
in America, the business and means of living of the lodger 
are a subject of inquiry, and rigid and careful scrutiny, all 
his movements are watched, and he is constantly the sub- 
ject of remark by the curious and the idle, — at the City 
Hotel, a boarder may mingle in society or live by. him- 
self, he may talk or he may be silent for months together, 
he may drink wine or drink water — in short, he may be as 



* This description seems more applicable to some parts of Eastern 
Virginia than to Maryland. It appears to ine rather a fancy sketch of a 
Blaveholding country, than a real and correct description of the present 
condition of the farming interest in Maryland. — Editor. 



PREJUDICE AGAINST COLOR. 81 

it were in the world or out of it, without being called to 
an account by any one for his conduct, or mode of living. 
I understand that Mr. Gibson has long since left the house, 
and that it is now kept by Mr. Jennings, a very worthy 
man, who was an inmate of it when I was there ; and that 
Mr. Willard, the accommodating bar-keeper, who knows 
and remembers the name of every man who has ever 
stepped into that great thoroughfare, as well as all his 
uncles, and aunts, and cousins, is still there. Night and 
day he is standing in that bar. I seem now, at the dis- 
tance of three thousand miles, to see his smiling face and 
hear him call the waiters, and give them orders, without 
for one moment suspending his conversation with a guest 
wlio is standing at the bar and making inquiries of him. 

One thing struck me with surprise upon my arrival in 
the free states. I have remarked in the firsi, part of my 
history, that my skin was white as that of most men, and 
whiter than that of the Spaniard, and that I had blue eyes ; 
nevertheless, that my hair was curly, and even woolly — and 
this circumstance, together with some features of my 
face, clearly indicated that I was allied to the negro-race. 
I never concealed my consanguinity with that race ; on 
the contrary, wherever I went I was careful to cause it to 
be known, for I did not wish to court the society of men 
under false colors. When I arrived in Philadelphia I soon 
found that my African blood was considered a sufficient 
objection to my being received as an equal among well- 
bred people ; and without perfect equality I myself would 
not permit any social intercourse. This, instead of -being 
disagreeable, was regarded by me as a favorable circum- 
stance ; for the melancholy occasioned by my recent do- 
mestic afflictions rendered me disinclined to mingle in 
society, and my isolated position enabled me to be a mere 



82 PREJUDICE AGAINST COLOR. 

.* 

spectator, " a looker-on in Venice," without being under 
any obligations to communicate with others. Hence, 
however, I arrived at the conclusion, that the prejudice 
against color is much greater in the free tiian in the slave- 
holding states. This probably arises from the fact, that 
the inhabitants of the free have less intercourse with the 
blacks than those of the slave states. This hypothesis is 
greatly strengthened by the fact, that in the Pilgrim land 
of New England, where the blacks are much less numer- 
ous than in Pennsylvania or New York, the prejudice 
founded upon color, as I shall hereafter show, is so great, 
as absolutely to amount to what may be denominated a 
color-phobia. 

Of course I mingled in society very little either in Phil- 
adelphia or in New York. There were, nevertheless, so 
many southern gentlemen and foreigners at the City Ho- 
tel, that as I was known to be perfectly independent in 
my pecuniary concerns, I had social intercourse enough 
whenever I desired it, though I seldom visited, or received 
visits, from the citizens of New York. I did indeed call 
on Dr. Mitchell, who treated me with great kindness, and 
urged me to call upon him often ; but I perceived that 
the Doctor introduced me to his friends rather as a philo- 
sophical curiosity, as he would show an Orang-outang, 
than as a gentleman who was entitled to associate on 
equal terms with the well-bred portion of society, and 
therefore I seldom visited him. 

In the latter part of November I returned to the city of 
Washington, and took rooms at a hotel in Pennsylvania 
Avenue, near the president's house. The hotel was kept 
by a man, who, although a very clever landlord, was 
known by the almost unpronounceable name of Hierony- 
mus. 



SESSION OF CONGRESS, DEC. 1815. 83 



CHAPTER III. 

Description of Mr. Madison, Henry Clay, William Lowndes, John C 
Calhoun, Daniel Webster, John Randolph, Richard M. Johnson — Re- 
marks on the Candidate for the Presidency in 1816 — James Monroe, 
William H. Crawford, Gov. Tompkins, Peter B. Porter, Erastus 
Root. 

One reason for visiting Washington at that particular 
time was that Congress was about to assemble, and the 
meeting of Congress I believed would bring together 
most of the distinguished men of the nation, and my 
curiosity to see and hear them was very much excited. 

It will be recollected that this Congress convened at a 
very interesting period. The treaty of peace between 
Great Britain and the United States had been ratified but 
a few days before the preceding Congress had, by the 
constitution, become defunct. The Congress of whose 
proceedings I am about to speak, met on the first Mon- 
day of December, 1815, and of course all the arrange- 
ments for a peace establishment were to be made by 
that body. Means were to be provided for the payment 
of a debt of more than one hundred millions of dollars, 
which had been incurred during the late war, and com- 
merce and the currency, which were sadly deranged, 
were to be regulated. Another matter which probably 
excited more interest, certainly more feeling, than either 
of those great questions, was the selection by the Re- 
publican party, which then held a decided majority in the 
nation, of a candidate for the presidency to succeed Mr. 



84 MR. MADISON. 

Madison, whose last term was soon to expire. This 
selection was to be made by a majority of the Republi- 
can members of Congress in grand caucus assembled. 

On the second day after my arrival in Washington, I 
met in the streets, to my great joy, my estimable friend, 
Mr. Pendleton. The very next day he took me to the 
President and introduced me to him. Mr. Pendleton in 
a few words informed Mr. Madison who I was, and what 
were my situation and circumstances in life. He received 
me courteously, and invited me to call often upon him, 
and I afterwards saw him frequently. 

Mr. Madison was then a little more than sixty years 
old. He was small in stature, but the features and 
lines of his face indicated deep and profound thought, 
and there was a gravity in his countenance, and solemnity 
and dignity in his deportment, which inspired the specta- 
tor not only with respect, but with a kind of awe. He 
seldom smiled, and in ordinary conversation never 
laughed. His style in conversation, like that in his 
writings, was a perfect model of purity and. elegance. 
Without appearing to have studied what he said, every 
word which he uttered, even on the most common topic, 
if reduced to writing, would have stood the test of the 
most rigid criticism. Of all men I ever knew he was 
uniformly the most self-possessed, and had the most per- 
fect control over his own passions. He knew men well. 
As a politician he was cool and calculating. He never 
descended to any intrigue, but he was so well versed in 
the ways of men that he scarcely ever failed in defeating 
the contrivances and intrigues of others. He would 
wait willi astonishing patience for the manager to en- 
tangle himself in his own meshes. Tiie engineer would 
appear to be blown up by the petard which he himself 






HENRY CLAY. 85 

had with infinite pains constructed. It would be easy to 
prove the truth of these positions by biographical sketches 
of this distingwished man. 

Tiie Capitol having, as I have before ren:iarked, been 
destroyed by the British under the direction of Admiral 
Cockburn, (an act of Gothic barbarity, disgraceful to the 
perpetrators and all who countenanced them in it,) 
Congress met in a row of buildings on Capitol Hill, 
owned by Mr. Carrol, and lately fitted up so as to afford 
temporary accommodation for both the Senate and House 
of Representatives. I attended in the galleries on the 
day the session commenced, and spent a part of nearly 
every day afterwards while I remained in Washington, 
which was until the next April, in witnessing the pro- 
ceedings and hearing what passed both in the Senate and 
the House of Representatives. 

It is the province of general history to give an ac- 
count of the measures adopted by this Congress. I, 
shall therefore content myself with presenting my views 
of some of the most prominent members of that body. 

Henry Clay of Kentucky was Speaker of the House 
of Representatives. He is a self-made man. He was, 
when a boy, a clerk of Chancellor Wythe of Virginia. 
Without, as I understand, much scholastic education, he 
acquired while there some smattering of the science of 
law, but before he was of age left the office of the Chan- 
cellor and Wandered iqto the state of Kentucky, then an 
almost unbroken wilderness; and the inhabitants scattered 
among those wilds were mostly poor, uncultivated, and 
rude adventurers. But the talents of Mr. Clay, young as 
he was, soon were felt and appreciated even among the 
half wild men of the Kentucky forests. He was a mem- 
ber of the convention which formed or revised the consti- 



86 HENRY CLAY. 

lution of that state ; and to his eternal honor, one of his 
first pubhc political acts was opposition to slavery. 

In the earher part of Mr. Clay's life, his sanguine tem- 
perament and ardent passions induced him to yield too 
much to sensual propensities and the exciting amusements 
furnished at the card-table ; but as he advanced in life 
he corrected those errors, and finally abandoned both the 
one and the other. 

When I first saw him he had just returned from Eng- 
land, where, in conjunction with Mr. John Quincy Adams 
and Mr. Bayard, he had been as ambassador, and had 
successfully negotiated the treaty of peace. It is not a 
little remarkable that a son of the western American for- 
est should, by his easy, dignified, and gentlemanly de- 
portment, have made himself more acceptable to the most 
polished and highly aristocratic circles in Europe, than 
even Mr. Adams, who, from his boyhood, had been an 
inmate in the most distinguished courts of the old world. 
Mr. Clay was, indeed, one of the most fascinating men I 
ever saw. Tall and elegant in his person, graceful in his 
manner, a countenance beaming with inlelhgence and be- 
nevolence, open and apparently frank in his conversation, 
he was the admiration and delight of every social circle 
in which he mingled ; and such were his persuasive pow- 
ers, that it seemed impossible for any individual whom 
he wished to bring into his measures to resist his importu- 
nities. In extemporaneous debate, he was the most elo- 
quent man in Congress. Never did I hear a man who 
could address a popular assembly so powerfully as Henry 
Clay. It has been said he was declamatory and ad- 
dressed more the prejudices and passions than the under- 
standing. But no man was more astute in seizing, and 
prompt in exposing the weaker points of his adversary, nor 



LOWNDES AND CALHOUN. 87 

of presenting more clearly to the judgment his own strong 
points, and those which he believed must control the de- 
cision of the question. When he had, as he assumed, 
convinced your judgment, in urging his conclusions, then 
indeed he drew upon your prejudices and roused and en- 
listed your feelings and passions. With a clear, strong, 
and musical voice, a commanding and graceful person, 
his countenance flushed and his eye flashing fire, no au- 
dience composed of human beings could resist being borne 
away by the torrent of his eloquence. 

Mr. Clay was a most zealous Republican, and would, 
occasionally, pour out his wrath in an unsparing manner 
upon the poor Federalists, whose policy then was to anni- 
hilate, as far as they could, party distinctions, and who 
therefore took every precaution against saying or doing 
any thino; which might serve to call out the denunciations 
of their opponents. 

Mr. Clay was ambitious — intensely ambitious, and prob- 
ably had at that time fixed his eye on the presidency. 
Undoubtedly he sincerely loved his country, and was in the 
main governed by the impulse of patriotic emotions, but in 
devising means to accomplish a given end, he is said to 
have been sometimes not sufficiently scrupulous. He 
was at this time the favorite — the idol of the South. 
Subsequently, either from principle or policy, or both, 
he supported the measures of the northern people — a 
tariff and a bank, which lost him his old southern friends, 
and the loss of their friendship was followed by their 
most inveterate hostility. 

William Lowndes and John C. Calhoun were the 
two great men from South Carolina. Of the former I 
may say, in brief, that he was a learned and an able states- 
man, disinterested and patriotic in all his conduct, and 



88 DANIEL WEBSTER 

mild, modest, and amiable in private life. He was one 
of the most benevolent men that ever lived, and yet was 
said to be the largest slaveholder in the Carolinas, except 
General Wade Hampton ; and although this was an error, 
and in my judgment a very great one, in Mr. Lowndes, it 
was an error of the head, growing out of the circumstances 
which attended him from his birth, and not an error of 
the heart. 

John C. Calhoun was younger than Mr. Lowndes. 
All the world now admit his great and distinguished tal- 
ents. Though Mr. Calhoun possesses all the ardor of 
feeling peculiar to southern inen of genius, in debate he 
appears more hke a northern orator. He never attempts 
to address your feelings or your passions. He has noth- 
ing of that wordy grandiloquent eloquence which gener- 
ally distinguishes southern orators. His argument is 
cool, clear, and logical, and you might listen to him an 
hour in a day for twenty days in succession, and he would 
not use a single word which was not absolutely necessary 
to convey his meaning. Calhoun was a Republican. 

Daniel Webster, a member then from New Hamp- 
shire, was the leader of the Federal party in Congress. 
Cold, and rather repulsive in his manners, cautious and 
calculating in debate, he was always perfectly self-possess- 
ed. Unmoved by the attacks of his opponents, he pursued 
the chain of his argument, demonstrating, as he advanced, 
with all the deliberation of a mathematician solving a '# 
problem in Euclid. 

Mr. Webster is not an eloquent man. He has not that 
acute sensibility nor the brilliancy of imagination, or, 
rather, the enthusiasm which, in my judgment, is indis- 
pensable for a popular orator ; but he possesses strength 
and vigor of intellect equal, if not superior, to any other 



DANIEL WEBSTER. S9 

man in America. In discussing the most abstruse ques- 
tion, and in pursuing a long and laborious process of rea- 
soning, he does not seem to be conscious he is saying 
any thing extraordinary. He appears rather to be talking 
plain common sense, than discussing an intricate point in 
controversy ; and when he arrives at his conclusions, he 
makes so clear a case that you are astonished, not so 
much at the skill of the orator, as that the same course 
of reasoning had not occurred to yourself ; and this effect 
of his reasoning I take to be conclusive evidence of his 
high intellectual power. But Mr. Webster, when excited, 
which is rarely the case, is truly eloquent. 

I will give one instance. 

Mr. Webster and the Federalists as a party were op- 
posed to a bill reported by Mr. Calhoun, as chairman of 
the Finance Committee, for chartering a bank of the Uni- 
ted States. The bill as originally reported would have 
created a paper and not a specie-paying bank. This fea- 
ture of the bill was against the individual opinion of Mr. 
Calhoun, but he reported it in that form in obedience to 
the direction of the majority of the committee, who were 
members from the south and west, and from Pennsylva- 
nia. Mr. Webster, when the bill was introduced, gave 
notice that he should probably vote against the bill in any 
shape it might be made to assume ; but as in some form 
it might be passed into a law, he should endeavor to divest 
it of some of its imperfections, and make it as perfect as 
he could. With that view, he from time to time proposed 
amendments, all tending to compel the bank to become 
and to be a specie-paying bank. These amendments were 
generally concurred in by Mr. Calhoun, and by the aid of 
the votes of the Federal members were adopted ; but the 
adoption of each of these amendments lost, from time to 



90 JOHN RANDOLPH. 

time, friends to the bill from the southern, western, and some 
of the middle states. Mr.Webster, therefore, calculating as 
he did with perfect certainty that on the final vote the Fed- 
eralists in a body would vote to reject the bill, felt morally 
certain he should succeed in defeating it, a project in 
which his whole soul was engaged ; but, just before the 
final vote was to be taken, Mr. Hulbert, an influential 
Federalist from Massachusetts, and Mr. Grosvenor from 
New York, declared that they, with some fifteen other 
Federalists, should vote for the bill. This announcement " 
broke upon Webster like a clap of thunder in the midst JBI 

of a profound calm. He had lost as many Federalists as 
he had gained by all his labors from the ranks of the Re- 
publicans. He rose, prodigiously excited. His great 
soul heaved within him in terrible commotion. His coun- 
tenance reminded me of the sudden gathering of a black 
and tempestuous cloud, ready to burst upon an alarmed 
and frightened multitude. He poured forth a torrent of 
powerful and eloquent invective on Mr. Hulbert, which, 
for fifteen or twenty minutes, suspended in breathless at- 
tention the house and the galleries. So profound was the 
silence, you might have heard a pin drop on the carpet> 
Hulbert and Grosvenor, though worthy and talented men, 
in one moment were annihilated. The speech never was, 
and indeed never could be reported. 

John Randolph, whose history and character are too 
well known in England and America to render it neces- 
sary for me to say any thing about them, was also a member 
of this Congress, as he had been of every Congress since 
the year 1798. It is also well known that he-commenced 
public life as a zealous Republican, but at the time of 
which I am writing he was, and for several years before 
had been, a dissatisfied man ; and although he did not ad- 



JOHN RANDOLPH. 91 

mit himself to be a member of the federal party, he was 
opposed to the Republican administration, and much in- 
clined to annoy Mr. Madison by all means in his power. 
It is difficult to describe this gentleman, either mentally 
or corporeally, and yet he was remarkable in both re- 
spects. He was tall and slim, and stood and walked 
exactly perpendicular. No marble pillar could be formed 
more so. He had a fine eye, but there was no more ex- 
pression or variation in the color of his face than in a 
block of granite. 

He was an excellent scholar, and one of the most ex- 
tensively and best read men of the age, and what he read 
or heard he always remembered ; and yet I once heard 
him say, in a speech he made in the House, (for in his 
speeches he talked of every thing,) that there were but 
three books extant which were worth preserving, and 
these were Gil Bias, Shakspeare, and the Bible. " The 
works of Shakspeare," he said, " contained the natural 
history of the heart of man and his passions. He knew," 
said Mr. R., in his own peculiar style of speaking, " the 
human heart as well as he who made it." Of all men in 
America he could and would pour forth the most biting 
and withering sarcasm upon the heads of his unfortunate 
opponents. I recollect, on one occasion, he put to the 
torture that great lawyer and orator, William Pinckney of 
Baltimore, in a manner that distressed him beyond meas- 
ure. Though he spoke frequently, and sometimes at 
great length, (once he spoke the whole of three days in 
succession,) the principal debaters could not suppress 
their alarm when he rose. Like raw soldiers at the mo- 
ment when the battle is to begin, each one trembled for 
fear he should be shot down. Yet Mr. Randolph was 
highly imaginative, and extremely nervous; so much sp,- 



92 JOHN RANDOLPH. 

that many of his most intimate acquaintance (for friends, 
although he was benevolent and kind-hearted, owing to 
his frequent indulgence in bitter sarcasm, he had none) 
believed him partially -insane. He himself was aware of 
this suspicion, as the following anecdote will show. Pre- 
vious to relating it, however, I ought to mention that Mr. 
Randolph was a man of high and intense ambition. 
When the majority in Congi-ess changed from federal to 
democratic, Mr. Randolph was for a while the acknowl- 
edged leader of the Republicans in the House, and was 
made Chairman of the Committee of Ways and Means. 
But it was soon ascertained that his talents, which were 
formidable for attack, were not suited for defence, and 
that though he could pull down and demolish the fabrics 
of others, he could not erect a structure of his own ; and 
he was removed from that station. It is said he sought 
a foreign embassy, but Mr. Jefferson, doubting whether he 
possessed the power of self-government, and the prudence 
so necessary for that station, declined to appoint him. On 
that occasion, he called, as was reported, on Mr. Jefferson, 
and inquired when Mr. Monroe, who was then abroad on 
a mission to one of the European courts, was to return. 
" My reason," said Mr. Randolph, " for making the in- 
quiry is, I want him for our next President. / do twt 
wish another philosopher for President." But I am losing 
sight of the story I was about to tell. 

On one occasion Mr. Randolph had spoken unfavoralsly 
of some of the Virginia institutions. I had previously 
observed that no member could utter a word against Vir- 
ginia without instantly drawing down upon himself the 
maledictions of the Virginia delegation. In Mr. Ran- 
dolph, who was himself a Virginian, a sarcasm against 
that state was treason against the Ancient Dominion. 



JOHN RANDOLPH. 93 

Forthwith, therefore, P. P. Barbour, Sheffy, and Jackson, 
young members from that state, came down with great 
wrath upon poor old Mr. Randolph. He rose and stretch- 
ed his tall and gaunt form to its full height, his long gray 
locks seemed floating in your vision, and his external ap- 
pearance indicated, what in truth he was, a great man in 
ruins. " In my younger days," said he, " I have in this 
House possessed influence and distinction. Those days 
have passed, never to return; — and sure it is, like old King 
Lear, I many times feel that I am abandoned by the 
whole world, and I can say with the old crazy king," (at 
the same time extending his long arm, and pointing his 
skeleton finger in succession at Barbour, Shefly, and Jack- 
son,) " the little dogs, Tray, Blanch, and Sweetheart — 
see, they bark at me." Mr. Barbour, who afterwards was 
an Associate Judge of the Supreme Court of the United 
States, instantly rose, trembling with rage, and demanded 
an explanation. " I have no explanation to give," said 
Mr. Randolph, in his usual shrill, sharp voice. 

Mr. Randolph had been a member of Congress so long 
that the House of Representatives had become his home ; 
and he seemed to feel as self-possessed, and as much at 
home while there, as the schoolmaster in his school, or 
the merchant in his counting-room. 

One particular instance of his self-possession and self- 
control 1 will mention. 

While speaking, he was standing in the alley of the 
room, leaning on the back of a common chair. In conse- 
quence of some motion of his body the chair slid, and 
Mr. Randolph fell on his back. His whole length was 
stretched on the floor. He rose, and regained in a very 
short time his standing position, but during this whole 
process he did not suspend a word or even a syllable of 



94 RICHARD M. JOHNSON. 

his argument. Had a blind man been listening to his 
speech, he could not have perceived that any tiling un- 
usual had occurred. 

There were many other distinguished and highly gifted 
men, whom I have not named, who were members of this 
Congress. Such for instance were Mr. John SergCcdit, 
and Mr. Hopkinson, of Philadelphia ; Bartlett Yancy, of 
North Carolina ; Forsyth Cuthbert, of Georgia ; Governor 
Robertson, of Louisiana ; Peter B. Porter and Erastus 
Root, of New York. The reader will perhaps be sur- 
prised that I do not mention Richard M. Johnson, after- 
wards Vice-President of the United States, in connection 
with the other eminent men who were members of this 
Congress. But I speak of men according to the impres- 
sion made on my own mind at the time, and not according 
to the portion of public attention they afterwards (and 
sometimes fortuitously) engrossed. Colonel Johnson may 
have been a brave man and a patriot, but he certainly 
never deserved distinction as a legislator. He was quite 
incapable of making a speech. He used frequently to 
rise and say something, but it would in general require a 
more discerning mind than I possess to understand even 
what he intended to say, or the conclusions to which he 
desired to arrive. The National Intelligencer would, it is 
true, the next day after Colonel Johnson had occupied the 
floor, give us a very decent speech made by him, which, 
although I had listened very attentively, I protest, with 
the veracity of an historian, I did not hear. A good speaker 
never has justice done him by a reporter. A bad speaker 
appears better on paper than on the floor. 

Colonel Johnson had much tact in snuffing the gale 
which wafted pubh'c opinion in any given direction. It 
was said, and perhaps truly, that he voted against all tax- 



THE TARIFF OF 1816. 95 

ation, and for all grants of money ; that is, he would help 
get money out of the treasury, but would afford no aid for 
getting it in. 

The great measures debated in this Congress were the 
bank and the tariff — of the former I have spoken. A 
tariff for profecizon of American manufactures had never 
before been proposed, or advocated, on that broad ground. 
The principal ground on which Mr. Calhoun and other e^n- 
lightened friends of a ta.vif[ for pi~otection placed their ac- 
tion was, that it was absolutely necessary in order to 
prevent the accumulation of a fearful balance of trade 
against us. While the corn-laws of England remained, 
what did the north and west produce which would be re- 
ceived in payment for European manufactures ? Nothing 
— literally nothing, except a little potash. Unless, there- 
fore, importation of foreign goods could be checked, the 
grain-growing states, in a very short time, would be 
drained of every dollar of their specie. These were the 
views of Mr. Calhoun, Gov. Robertson, and other south- 
ern members ; and these were the views of Mr. Madison. 
The eastern members, and some of the members from the 
northern cities, opposed protective duties on the ground 
that the system would injure the commercial and shipping 
interest. The bill finally passed, and its success was 
greatly owing to the influence of Mr. Calhoun, and the ad- 
dress and zeal and eloquence of Mr. Clay. It is worthy 
of remark, that, with the exception of Mr. Clay and the 
people of Kentucky, the two parties on this question, as 
well as on that of the bank, have since completely reversed 
their position. Mr. Calhoun and the southern people now 
declare a protective tariff ruinous and unconstitutional, 
while Mr. Webster, and the New England and most of 
the northern politicians, insist that protection is not only 



96 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES, 

constitutional, but essential to their existence as a flourish- 
ing community. One thing is certain, the constitution has 
not been changed, and if protective duties were constitu- 
tional then, they are constitutional now. I have observed 
that southern statesmen, and, indeed, the northern also, 
with great facility persuade themselves that every thing 
is constitutional which will promote their views, and that 
every measure, to which they are opposed, is uncon- 
stitutional. 

There were three prominent candidates for the presi- 
dency : Mr. Monroe of Virginia, Mr. Crawford of Geor- 
gia, and Gov. Tompkins of New York. 

Mr. Monroe had for many years been a minister of the 
United States to some of the European courts. He was 
mild and moderate in his politics, but cautious and wary 
as a politician. He had no brilliancy of talent; he ap- 
peared dull, heavy, and inactive. He seemed rather to 
Jloat than swim. Undoubtedly, however, he possessed 
much prudence and sagacity. 

William H. Crawford was Secretary of War- He 
was a self-made man, of great energy of character and in- 
tegrity of purpose. He was frank and unreserved in his 
communications with all men, and independent in forming 
and firm in maintaining his opinions. 

Daniel D. Tompkins was, at that time, governor of 
the state of New York, and had, by his activity, address, 
and popularity, rendered essential aid to the administration 
of Mr. Madison during the late war. He was not a great 
man, but from his good-nature and the natural pliancy of 
his temper, his disposition to oblige, and his fine social 
qualities, he had many personal friends in his own state, 
and, indeed, wherever he was known. Besides, he was 
a northern man, and from a non-slaveholding state — a sec 



GENERAL ROOT. 97 

tion of the union which had not had a president, who was 
one of its inhabitants, but for four years since the organiza- 
tion of the government. All the residue of the lime the presi- 
dent had been taken from the state of Virginia. When 
this Congress assembled, the greater part of the members 
(I speak of the Democratic members) from the north were 
for Governor Tompkins. Those from the south were divi- 
ded between Mr. Crawford and Mr. Monroe, and those 
from the middle and western states were divided between 
all three. Mr. Madison was for Mr. Monroe, and aided 
him by the executive patronage, so far as he could with 
propriety. 

As I have before stated, Peter B. Porter and Erastus 
Root were two of the most influential men from the state 
of New York. Gen. Porter was a man of talents, pro- 
foundly sagacious, and Governor Tompkins relied much on 
his influence ; but a friendship of long standing had ex- 
isted between him and Mr. Clay, who was for Mr. Mon- 
roe. Probably, through the contrivance and influence of 
Mr. Clay, Mr. Madison appointed Gen. Porter one of the 
commissioners to settle the northern boundary line of the 
United States, and from that time forth Gen. Porter 
declined any apparent interference with the presidential 
question. 

General Root was a native of Connecticut, and wa& 
educated there. He was a man of great talents, and in 
principle and in grain a democrat. And here let me re- 
mark, that the real democrat of the north — I do not mean 
the " dough-faced^'' northern office-seeker who calls him- 
self a democrat — is very different from the democrat of the 
south. The southern democrat is for maintaining the 
rights and independence of the planter who owns lands 
and slaves. He thinks that particular class of men ought 

7 



98 GENERAL ROOT. 

to govern the mechanic, the laborer, and especially the 
black race, with absolute and unlinriiled control : that the 
assertion in the Declaration of Independence, " that all 
men are horn free and equal,"'' is " a mere figure of rheto- 
ric :" that it means that all planters have an equal right 
to control the conduct of all other men according to their 
own wnll and pleasure, or their own caprice ; and in short, 
he " thinks it freedom when himself is free." I do not 
mean, however, to include in this category such patriots 
and philosophers as Mr. Jefferson, and a few others of 
the revolutionary school — nor indeed such statesmen as 
Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun. 

General Root zealously and pertinaciously supported 
Governor Tompkins for the presidency, until it was clearly 
ascertained that it was impossible he could be nominated. 
Indeed, it was early ascertained that Mr. Tompkins could 
not succeed ; for the southern friends of Mr. Crawford 
very soon declared that they could not and would not, in 
any event, support Governor Tompkins. This declara- 
tion imposed on the friends of that gentleman the neces- 
sity of choosing between Mr. Crawford and Mr. Monroe ; 
and the greater part of them avowed themselves for the 
former, some on account of personal preference, but more 
for the reason that that high office had been held by a 
citizen of Virginia for twenty-four out of twenty-eight 
years, and they thought it fit and proper that it should be 
bestowed upon a citizen of some other state. At the 
time when it was first settled that the competition was 
confined to two candidates, I have reason to know that a 
majority of the members were for Mr. Crawford. But 
the caucus was from time to time procrastinated until, I 
believe, the month of March — and in the mean time the 
executive patronage made prodigious havoc among the 



MISSOURI QUESTION. 99 

Crawford parly. The northern men were and arfe peculiar- 
ly susceptible of the influence of governmental patronage, 
and they have an instinctive predilection for those offices 
"by which money is to be made. 

At the caucus Mr. Monroe was nominated, by a ma- 
jority of nine votes, over Mr. Crawford. 



CHAPTER IV. 



The Missouri question — General James Talmadge — Tiie relation between 
Master and Slave considered — The question respecting a Division of 
the Union discussed — Personal courage of Negroes. 

The summer of 1817 and the winter of 1818, I spent 
in Raleigh and its vicinity. My anxiety for the health 
and comfort of my child drew me there ; and I was afraid 
that long and continued absence would wean him from 
me, and prevent the growth of that tender affection which 
ought to be well-rooted in the breast of a child towards 
his parent, and grow with his growth. In the spring of 1818 
I went to New York, and spent the greater part of the sum- 
mer there ; and in the course of that summer I formed a 
hmited partnership with a commercial house in that city, 
in which I invested a small capital, which proved, as I 
have related in the first part of my memoirs, a very profit- 
able investment. 

The winter of 1820 I spent principally in Washington. 
When I went there I did not intend to stay long, but the 
agitation of the famous Missouri question, which became 
deeply interesting, induced me to remain there till that 
rr;Cbc ( I Wds disposed of. 






100 MISSOURI QUESTION. 

That the few remarks I intend to naake on this subject 
may be the better understood, I shall briefly state the cir- 
cumstances under which that question was presented, and 
the real question which was decided. This statement I 
make from my own recollection, not having a single writ- 
ten or printed document on that subject before me, nor 
within my control.* 

The territory called Louisiana was discovered and set- 
tled by the French — subsequently ceded by them to 
Spain — afterwards reconveyed by Spain to France, and 
in the year 1803 was by the French ceded to the United 
States. In the treaty of cession, the American govern- 
ment stipulated that Louisiana should be admitted as a 
state or states into the Union, on an equal footing with 
the other territories and states which then belonged to it. 
Under this arrangement, the southeastern part of the ter- 
ritory, including the city of New Orleans, had been ad- 
milted as a state, and the northwestern part of it, which 
makes the now state of Missouri, had been created into a 
territory, its governor and other officers having been ap- 
pointed by the President and Senate of the United States. 
This territory now applied to be admitted as a state, hav- 
ing more inhabitants than the number requisite to entitle 
her to admission, that number being 40,000. By the 
U. S. Constitution, Congress is bound to guaranty to eve- 
ry state a republican form of government ; hence every 
territory requesting admisyon as a state, must first frame and 
adopt a constitution, by which it is in future to be governed, 
which it must present for the inspection of Congress at 



* The reader will please bear in mind that Mr. Melbourn wrote these 
Memoirs in Eiisrland. — Editor. 



MISSOURI QUESTION. 101 

the time it asks admission ; and if Congress approve such 
constitution, if entitled in other respects, it is admitted, or 
otherwise it is, or ought to be, rejected. Thus, if a state 
were by its constitution to provide for an hereditary exec- 
utive, or an hereditary nobihty, it would of course be re- 
jected. 

Missouri had in the constitution which she offered 
provided for negro slavery, and indeed, according to my 
recollection, had inhibited her legislature forever after 
from abolishing it. By the compact of the old thirteen 
states, representation in the House of Representatives 
is apportioned according to the number of all free in- 
habitants, and three-fifths of all other persons, meaning 
by other persons slaves. Thus, suppose the state of 
South Carolina to contain 300,000 free inhabitants and 
500,000 slaves, and the ratio of representation to be 
one member of Congress to 30,000 inhabitants ; South 
Carolina would be entitled to ten members for her 
300,000 free inhabitants, and also ten members for her 
500,000 slaves. Now slaves are by law declared to be 
personal property, and this gives the slave states a 
property representation which is denied to the free 
states. There is in carrying out this provision most 
manifest injustice. In illustration of the injustice of this 
rule, I will suppose what I presume is the fact, assuming, 
however, fictitious numbers, that the state of Massachu- 
setts contains 300,000 inhabitants, the value of whose 
personal property is twice as great as the property of the 
300,000 Carolinians including their 500,000 slaves, and 
yet the 300,000 inhabitants of Massachusetts would have 
but ten members of Congress, while the 300,000 people 
in Carolina would have twenty members. Thus, with 
one-half the amount in value of property a citizen in 



102 MISSOURI QUESTION. 

South Carolina possesses twice as much political power 
as a citizen of Massachusetts.* 

Gen. James Talmadge, an eloquent and talented mem- 
ber from the state of New York, objected to the ad- 
mission of Missouri as a state unless her constitution 
should be so modified as to prohibit slavery, and es- 
pecially unless she was deprived of a representation in 
Congress in proportion to the number of her slaves. 
This produced a protracted and angry debate, which took 
a very wide range and elicited much local feeling and 
prejudice. 

By Gen. Talmadge and his friends the horrors of 
slavery were depicted in glowing colors, the palpable 
injustice of slave representation was distinctly pointed 
out and strongly urged ; and it was further insisted that 
the territory of Missouri was not a part of the United 
States when the constitution was formed ; that the right 
of slave representation was then yielded by the free to 
the slaveholding states as matter of compromise ; that the 
proposition to admit a foreign territory into the Union 
was the offer of a new compact ; that it was therefore the 
right and the duty of the old thirteen states to make 
such terms for the admission of foreign territory as 
should be just and equitable ; and that the constitution of 
Missouri was not in fact republican, inasmuch as it 
provided that a part of its inhabitants might make slaves 
of the other part. 

On the other hand it was urged by the southern mem- 
bers that the United Stales were bound by treaty with 
France, to admit the ceded territory into the Union on 

* Of course Mr. Melbourn means twice as much power in the United 
btates House of Representatives, and iu creating the national ex- 
ecutive. — Editor. 



4 



MISSOURI QUESTION. 103 

the same fooling as the states then in existence — that 
each state, by its own inherent sovereign power, had a 
right to estabhsh or abolish negro slavery — that the treaty 
also provided that the private property of the citizens of 
the ceded territory should be held sacred — that at the 
time of the cession the inhabitants of Missouri held 
slaves as property — that the refusal to admit the territory 
as a state, was a refusal to perform the stipulations of 
the treaty — that it would cause a sacrifice of the property of 
individuals — and that the faith of the nation pledged in 
the treaty would be violated, unless Missouri should be 
admitted with the constitution she had formed. 

It soon became evident by several interlocutory votes 
which were taken, that there was a majority in favor of 
Gen. Talmadge's proposition. That majority was sus- 
tained and encouraged by resolutions of the legislatures 
of New York and several other of the largest states in 
the Union, which happened then to be in session, in- 
structing their senators and representatives not to vote 
for the admission of Missouri into the Union, unless the 
restrictions proposed by Gen. Talmadge were adopted. 
In this state of the question, Mr. Clay, who was speaker, 
proposed what he called a compromise. Tiiis proposi- 
tion was to admit Missouri into the Union without any 
alteration of her constitution, but that the admission 
should be coupled with the declaration that thereafter no 
state lying north of latitude 36° 30' should be admitted 
which should tolerate slavery, but that all states south 
of that line might hold slaves. 

This singular proposition, which assumed the right of 
Congress to reject a slate, which by its constitution au- 
thorized slavery, and which affected to establish moral 
and political rights by latitude and longitude, was finally 



104 DIVISION OF THE UNION. 

adopted by a bare majority. Partly by the address and 
personal influence of Mr. Clay, but probably more by 
the influence of executive patronage, then controlled by a 
slaveholding president, some fifteen members from the 
free states were induced to change their votes under 
pretence that they approved of Mr. Clay's compromise. 
These men were afterwards justly stigmatized by the 
sarcastic John Randolph as " dough-faces P 

The result of the final vote on this question induced 
me to form the opinion, an opinion which subsequent 
observation and events have tended to confirm, that the 
poor slave has little to hope from the northern poli- 
ticians. 

The southern members threatened that they would 
secede from the Union if Missouri was not admitted, and 
many of the honest northern people were alarmed at this 
vain and impotent threat. I say this threat was vain and 
impotent, because the southern people cannot, if they would, 
separate from the Union, and sustain lliemselves as an in- 
dependent nation, and they dare not, and therefore would 
not if they could. In my judgment, if the Union were 
divided, slavery could not exist twelve months in the south- 
ern states. 

Why should not the truth be told ? The relation be- 
tween master and slave is necessarily a state of war. 
The slave is a prisoner to his master, not by natural or 
moral right, but by physical force alone. Hence slave- 
holders will not discuss, nor sufl'er to be discussed, their 
right to their slaves. Were the venerable and benevo- 
lent Clarkson to visit America, and attempt to convince 
the slaveholders that their true interest demanded the 
abolition of slavery, by proving that free labor was cheaper 
than slave labor, that gradual emancipation might safely 



DIVISION OF THE UNION. 105 

be effected, in the way it was effected in New York, or 
the villeins were emancipated in England, that their slaves 
might be turned into a tenantry, or hired laborers — instead 
of being answered, he would be lynched. If you appeal 
to their reason, their declared political principles, and their 
sense of justice, like the Scotch lords they lay their 
hands on their swords, instead of replying to your appeal. 
Is it not, therefore, war, never-ending war, by the master 
upon the slave ? The one maintains, and the other yields 
to authority by physical force alone. Can the master 
complain if Jie is foiled in a contest which he himself has 
voluntarily chosen ? 

I say then, if the slave states were severed from the 
free, and if a well-organized army of 10,000 men were 
to land in a slaveholding state, protected by a competent 
naval force, with provisions, and arms, and munitions of 
war sufficient for an army of 60,000 men, the slavehold- 
ing states would be subdued in less than six months. 
How could it be otherwise ? The slaves in some of 
those states outnumber the free whites. How many then 
of the whites could be spared from the defence of their 
own firesides ? I know that the southern nien are as 
brave as any people on earth. No man doubts their per- 
sonal courage. But, alas, what could they do to repel an 
invading force, when each man has a deadly enemy in 
his own house ? 

I am aware that I shall be answered, that the southern 
states have outlived two wars with Great Britain ; but it 
must be recollected that during those wars Great Britain 
herself held many slaves in her West India islands. It 
was thei-efore dangerous policy for her to encourage a 
servile war. Is that her condition now ? Besides, during 
the Revolutionary war, it was well known that Lord Corn- 



106 PERSONAL COURAGE OF AFRICANS. 

wallis, with a comparatively small army, in a short space 
of lime marched through the southern states, and sup- 
posed them entirely subdued, until his conquest was 
disturbed by General Greene of Rhode Island, with his 
troops raised in the northern and free states. Everybody 
knows that the last war was prosecuted by the British for 
the purpose of annoyance and not for conquest, and that 
they on no occasion tolerated a servile insurrection. 
But in both wars I presume I shall not be contradicted 
when I assert, though I make the assertion at random, 
that nine-tenths of the private soldiers who belonged to 
the American army were natives of the free states. Ab- 
stract the northern and western men from the ranks of 
the American army, and you will find an army of officers, 
but no private soldiers. I say nothing of a fact which I 
presume all men will admit, that money, which is the 
sinews of war, must be obtained almost entirely from the 
north. 

Again — I may be told that the negro is mild and yielding 
in his nature, and that he is destitute of the personal cour- 
age necessary for a soldier. I know that by a law of 
Congress, the object of which is most apparent, no colored 
man is required or permitted to do militia duty, or in 
any other way to learn the art of war, and this provision 
extends as well to the free as the slave states ; but I be- 
lieve there were one or two black regiments enlisted in the 
northern states, and who served during the Revolutionary 
war, and neither their skill, bravery, nor fidelity was ever 
questioned. 

During the last war it will be remembered that almost 
the only martial glory acquired by the Americans, except- 
ing always the battle of New Orleans, was acquired by 
the American navy ; and it will be conceded that a 



PERSONAL COURAGE OF AFRICANS. 107 

great proportion of the fighting men of that navy were 



negroes. 



The managers of the Park Theatre in New York, in 
testimony of the bravery of the lamented Captain Law- 
rence and his crew, manifested in the brilliant action with 
the British sloop-of-war Peacock, invited him and them 
to a play in honor of tiie victory achieved on that oc- 
casion. The crew marched together into the pit, and 
nearly one-half of them were negroes. I have been 
told this by a gentleman who was an eye-witness. 

Is it not enough to degrade and oppress the negro ? 
Must he also be branded with the charge of natural 
cowardice ? During the dreadful contests which have 
occurred in the last half century in St. Domingo, I have 
never heard the negroes charged with the want of per- 
sonal courage. The time may come, (which may a mer- 
ciful God avert,) when the negro of the United States 
will afford a demonstration of his personal bravery, as, 
under sufferings the most extreme, he has already done 
of his patience and fortitude. 



I 



108 IMPORTATION OP SLAVES PROHIBITED. 



CHAPTER V. 

The Slave Market at Washington — The Law of Congress prohibiting the 
importation of Slaves from Africa, beneficial to the Negro growers in 
Maryland, Virginia, &-c. — Ride from Washington to Baltimore — A 
Ciiivalric Southerner — A Philosophical Wanderer and a Quaker — A 
Discussion on the subject of the right of destroying wild animals — An- 
ecdote of Bishop Hobart. 

Nothing else occurred during the time I remained at 
Washington, while this Congress was in session, which 
much interested me, except an exhibition, which I before 
had frequently witnessed, and which still disgraces a city 
which is the capital of a government that claims to be the 
only free government on earth. The states of Maryland 
and Virginia are the great slave-growing states, as New 
York and Vermont are the wool-growing states of the 
Union. The purchase of Louisiana and the new settle- 
ments in Alabama and Mississippi have greatly increased 
the demand for slaves.* This demand is further aug- 
mented by the circumstance that on the sugar plantations 
in Louisiana the service and fare are so hard, and the cli- 
mate so unhealthy for natives of the northern slave states, 
that the stock of negroes cannot be kept good by natural 
population. I am told that the sugar planter on the banks 
of the Mississippi requires an annual addition of slaves, 
over and above the increase by natural population, of ten 

* The purchase of the Floridas, and the annexation of Texas, events 
which have occurred since our author wrote this, will greatly add to the 
demand for slaves. — Editor. 



SLAVE MARKET AT WASHINGTON. 109 

or fifteen per cent. For this reason the law of 1808, which 
prohibited the importation of slaves from Africa and other 
foreign countries, is highly favorable to the northern slave 
states. It operates as advantageously for the negro grow- 
ers in Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, &c., as an 
absolute prohibition of the importation of foreign wool, or 
manufactured cloths, would to the wool-growers and man- 
ufacturers of the eastern and middle states. This some 
of the Yankees did not see, and others more shrewd who 
saw it did not choose to seem to see it. But, in truth, 
the very men who exclaim so loudly against a tariff to 
protect the interest of the north, themselves enjoy not 
only a protection but a prohibition against foreign compe- 
tition with their staple production. It is said that Virginia 
alone exports annually to the more southern states 42,000 
slaves ! These slaves, at the moderate price of $300 
each, produce to Virginia an annual cash balance of 
$1,600,000! 

The northern slave-producer and the southern slave- 
buyer meet at Washington. In that city these merchants, 
or traders in human flesh, congregate. To this great mar- 
ket the slaves are brought like cattle to Bull's Head, in 
New York, and there they are bought and sold. Hence, 
droves of them are frequently marched in platoons through 
the streets of Washington, chained to a bar of iron. To each 
bar ten or a dozen negroes — men and women grouped 
together — are fastened by iron bands around their wrists. 
In this plight many of the droves pass directly under the 
windows of the Capilol. If it were not for the painful sen- 
sations excited by this exhibition, in the mind of a spectator 
stationed at one of the windows in the gallery, it would 
to him be ludicrous to hear at the same moment the crack 
of the whip of the negro-driver, and the moan of the slave, 



110 RIDE TO BALTIMORE. 

and at the same moment the speech of some orator in the 
Representative Hall, from Alabama or Georgia, lauding 
the United Slates as the only free nation on the globe, 
and appealing to God for the truth of his asseveration, that 
he was willing to shed his blood in defence of liberty and 
the equal rights of man. 

Before the adjournment of Congress I concluded to go 
to the north, thinking that a residence in one of the north- 
ern cities would be more agreeable than in such a mo- 
notonous place as Washington. Accordingly, about the 
middle of March, I took my passage in a stage-coach for 
Baltimore. This, it must not be forgotten, was long be- 
fore the railroad between Washington and Baltimore was 
constructed. At this season of the year the road to Bal- 
timore was very bad, and it was considered a good drive 
to make this journey, of about thirty-six miles, in twelve 
hours. The stage left Washington at six o'clock in the 
morning. I had sat up late with some friends the prece- 
ding night, and to say truth, I had drunk rather freely. I 
therefore on entering the coach took little notice of my 
fellow-passengers, but quietly located myself in one cor- 
ner of the front seat, drew the collar of my cloak over my 
face, to preserve it from the sharp morning air, and soon 
fell into a slumber, from which I was not awakened until 
after nine o'clock, when I was roused by a jog of ray 
elbow, and a sonorous voice calling out, " I say, stranger, 
don't you want some breakfast, or do you live without 
eating ?" I started up immediately, and following the per- 
son who addressed me, was soon in the breakfast -room of 
an hotel which was little more than eight miles from Wash- 
ington. The breakfast was on the table in a moment, and 
I soon found that the only persons who seated themselves 
around il were my fellow-passengers ; and I now for the 



i 



STAGE PASSENGERS. 1 1 1 

first time observed them attentively.. They consisted of 
three gentlemen. The person who sat next me on the 
front seat in the coach, and who awakened me, was a man 
above the ordinary size, coarse built, red hair, with a flo- 
rid complexion, a large mouth, a nose which was varie- 
gated with fine bright pimples, and the tip of it somewhat 
inflamed. The general appearance of his countenance 
was fierce and ferocious. He wore a blue straight-bodied 
coat, trimmed with brilliant metal buttons, cloth vest, open 
nearly to the waistband of his breeches, so as to exhibit 
fully the long rufiles of his shirt. Inside of his vest hung 
dangling a leathern sheath, in which appeared the handle 
of a knife, of the length of a common carving-knife ; — 
over his pantaloons he wore what were then called sherry- 
vals, which were buttoned on the outside of each leg with 
shining metal buttons, set so near together that they al- 
most touched each other, and his feet and legs were orna- 
mented with thick cowhide boots. Over all these garments 
he wore a shaggy box-coat, with large ivory buttons. 
This coat had large side-pockets, in each of which ap- 
peared the breech of a horseman's pistol. His head was 
graced by a trooper's cap, ornamented with a long black 
fox-tail. Before he sat down to breakfast, and in fact the 
moment he entered the bar-room, he called for a gill of 
brandy, in which having infused a quantity of sugar, he 
dispatched it with wonderful facility. " Mint julep," he 
said, " answered very well for a morning draught in hot 
weather, but clear brandy was the best cordial for a gen- 
tleman in the winter." 

Directly opposite the person I have described sat a 
small man, dressed in the uniform of a Quaker. His 
complexion was light, his face pale ; he was slender, and 
rather emaciated ; his countenance was open, mild, and 



112 STAGE PASSENGERS. 

conciliatory ; and his. whole appearance, and the motion 
of every muscle of his body, indicated quiet resignation. 
He had fine large blue eyes, which beamed with benevo- 
lence, sensibility, and intelligence. While I was observ- 
ing, with much interest, this gentleman, I perceived that 
our other travelling companion, and who sat opposite to 
me, was surveying me with close and critical attention. 
The name of this gentleman, with whom I afterwards be- 
came very intimate, was Tobias Thornton. His com- 
plexion was dark, forehead high, and rather protuberant, 
chin and lips well formed, the latter closely compressed 
when not talking, a large nose, fine bushy hair, and a 
small, but intensely keen, gray eye set deeply in his head. 
His height was about five feet and eleven inches, and his 
whole form was in perfect symmetry. I observed when 
he came into the house, he threw off a rich blue cloak. 
His under dress consisted of dark-colored broadcloth, 
neither so rich nor so gay as to inspire admiration, nor so 
unfashionable as to excite attention. And this, by the way, 
I take to be the best evidence of good taste in dress — that 
is to say, a gentleman or a lady, on all occasions, ought 
to be so attired that no person will notice, or be apt to re- 
member, how they are dressed. Your associate ought to 
make such an impression on your mind that you will re- 
member the inaUj and forget his dress. This cannot be 
the case if your friend dresses very gay, or if he is sloven- 
ly, or very unfashionably apparelled. 

We dispatched our breakfast silently, but had made a 
scanty meal, when we heard the coachman's horn sum- 
moning us to the carriage. " Damn that horn," said the 
man with pistols and the long knife. " I'll be cursed if I 
leave before I have done eating." The rest of us, how 
ever, rose, and prepared to proceed on our journey. As 



CAPTAIN PUFF AND THE COACHMAN. 113 

the other passenger did not make his appearance the 
driver returned to the dining-room, and gave notice that 
the coach would wait no longer. " Damn you, for an in- 
solent puppy," said the gentleman ; "do you think I'll be 
forced away from my breakfast ?" The coachman, with 
a manner very cool, told him he did not wish to force him 
from the table, he might eat as long as he pleased, but 
the stage would proceed, and he might come on at his 
leisure. At this our companion started up in a great rage, 
drew his knife, and swore that he would put the driver to 
death instantly, if he uttered another word. It would 
seem, that when he rose from the table, the coachman 
recognised him, for with great good-nature he immediate- 
ly replied — 

" Poh, poh ! why, don't you know me. Captain Puff? 
Have you forgot your old companion at the Wheeling 
races ?" 

" By heavens !" said the Captain, " are you Tom 
Blinker ?" 

" I reckon I am," said Tom. 

" Give us your fist, then," said the other, " and go 
ahead." 

Captain Puff, after this recognition on both sides, ac- 
coutred himself very expeditioushva;ifd entered the coach 
in fine spirits. 

" That driver," said the Captain, " is a rare chap. I 
saw him whip home, from a Methodist meeting, two of 
Judge Garland's negroes. He did it in fine style. The 
she negro was the finest formed wench I ever saw. She 
ought not to be kept as a field-slave. If I owned iier I 
would take her to New Orleans, where she Vvfould .sell 
for her weight in gold." 

To this harangue no reply was made, but I heard the 

8 



114 CAPT. PUFF AND THE QUAKER. 

Quaker sigh once or twice, and perceived the face of Mr. 
Thornton was considerably flushed. 

" I fear," said the Quaker, addressing Mr. Thornton, 
" we shall have a rain-storm before night." 

" It is very probable," said the other, and a long silence 
ensued. 

The Captain, finding his remarks were not noticed, sat 
for some time in sullen silence. 

After we had travelled several miles from the place 
where we breakfasted, we came to the farm of Mr. Cal- 
vert, a descendant of one of the most ancient and re- 
spectable families in Maryland. At that time he had re- 
served a large piece of land, which he had enclosed as a 
park for deer ; and for aught I know, he or his descend- 
ants still preserve it. As we passed we saw several deer 
gavly racing in the park. This sight roused the Captain 
from his apparent revery. 

" Oh, that I had my rifle ! By heaven, if I had, cost 
what it would, I would spoil the faces of some of them 
gay fellows." 

" And why would thee kill the unoffending deer ?" said 
the Quaker ; " they never injured thee or any one else, 
as I know of." 

"Why would I kill them?" said Captain Puff"— " a 
queer question that — why, for fun to be sure." 

" And can it be," said the Quaker, " fun or sport for 
thee to torture with wounds and deprive an innocent being 
of life ? Thee cannot give life, and why should thee take 
it, except in defence of thy own life, or to obtain sus- 
tenance to preserve it '/" 

" Ha ! ha ! ha !" roared out Captain Puff. " Pretty 
enough ! So I have not a right, for my own amusement, 



CAPT. PUFF AND THE QUAKER. 115 

to kill a deer running in ihe woods, or a bird flying in the 
air — have I, brother Saint ?" 

" No," said the Quaker, " thee has no such right. It 
may be right to kill those animals whose flesh is neces- 
sary for our food, and whose lives we have preserved by- 
feeding them at our own expense, which expense is the 
avails of our own labor; or it may be right to kill wild 
animals, in defence of our own lives, or even those which 
annoy us, or destroy the fruits of our labor ; but it cannot 
be right to shoot an innocent deer, which in no way in- 
jures us or despoils our property, but which has supported 
himself in his native forest, entirely independent of the 
labor of man — or to shoot an eagle on the top of a tree or 
the summit of a clifl". To deprive such animals of that 
life which God has given them, for our amusement, is a 
sin against nature and nature's God. Indeed, the fact 
that a man can find amusement and pleasure in such a 
destruction of animal life is evidence, in my humble opin- 
ion, that his nature and taste have become barbarous — 
that instead of being a civilized Christian, he is in reality 
a savage.'''' 

The Quaker spoke this with some warmth. Captain 
Puff, who made several attempts to interrupt him, now 
said — 

"Hark ye, Mr. Broadbrim, if you call me a savage I'll 
cut off your ears, d — n me." 

The Quaker, who had now acquired his habitual calm- 
ness, made no reply ; but Mr. Thornton said, in a mild, 
but very audible tone of voice, that " it was an evidence, 
and a pretty sure evidence, of cowardice, to abuse a fe- 
male, or a man whose religious principles forbid him to 
resent an insult." 

"Damn you," said Captain Puff to Mr. Thornton, "do 



116 DESTRUCTION OF WILD ANIMALS. 

you take up the quarrel ? M)^ scoring knife will shave off 
your ears as quick as Groaning Jonathan's." 

Mr. Thornton made no reply, but cast such a look upon 
the gallant Captain, as induced him to remain silent the 
rest of the way. It is singular how easy and how quick 
braggart blustering will quail and cower to ti-ue courage. 

" My friend," said Mr. Thornton to the Quaker, " I en- 
tirely agree with you, that it is wrong to take the life of 
animals for amusement merely ; and yet I cannot carry 
the doctrine so far as to consider it criminal to take the 
lives of animals which we ha,ve neither reared nor sup- 
ported, but whose flesh is agreeable to our appetites, and 
may be made to contribute to our subsistence." 

" Animal life," said the Quaker, " must be considered 
a blessing ; and if the killing and eating of animals tends 
to multiply their numbers, which is adding to the quantum 
of animal life, — as it evidently does in the case of swine, 
and a multitude of other domestic animals, — it seems to 
me that our practice of nurturing and providing for them, 
with a view to the use of their flesh for food, is carrying- 
out the benevolent designs of the Creator ; but to kill a 
deer on the wild shores of Lake Superior, or a buffiilo 
beyond the Rocky mountains, certainly cannot have the 
effect of multiplying the number of those animals, and 
therefore, in my judgment, is unjustifiable, except when 
absolutely necessary for the preservation of human life. 
In that case the killing is in self-defence, as much as when 
three men are starving at sea, and they cast lots which 
shall be slain to furnish a supply of food for the other two. 
1 would apply the spirit of a transaction like this to the 
slaughter of animals which neither injure us nor our prop- 
erty, and which subsist independent of us." 

" You may be right," said Mr. Thornton ; " but before 



DESTRUCTION OF ANIMALS. 117 

the subject passes out of my mind, it is my duty to con- 
fess that there is a certain species of animals which I am 
in the habit of destroying for my amusement solely — not- 
withstanding I have admitted the correctness of the rule 
that we ought not to take the lives of animals for amuse- 
ment : what I mean is, that I am so fond of fishing that I 
sometimes fish for amusement only, and suffer the trem- 
bling animals to perish on the shore without making any 
use of their flesh." 

" I am almost ashamed to confess," said the Quaker, 
blushing, " that I do the like. But it has occurred to me, 
that if some of the fish were not taken from our waters 
by the hook or the net, they might, if their ranks were 
not thus thinned, increase at such a rate, as that diseases 
in consequence of an excess of numbers would be gener- 
ated among them. May not, then, the diminution which 
is caused by an indulgence in the agreeable amusement 
of fishing, actually produce or cause an increase of the 
quantity of life of this class of animals ?" 

This hypothesis was so much in character with sly 
Quaker subtlety, that I could not help smiling ; and Mr. 
Thornton, rather sarcastically as I thought, thanked the 
Quaker for this new-invented salve for his conscience. 

" But," continued Thornton, " civihzed man — chris- 
tianized man, will have a heavy account to answer for in- 
justice done to another class of animals : I mean those 
domestic animals which we keep for our own use or 
pleasure. Such, for instance, is the sheep, the cow, the 
ox, and the horse. We depend, for a large portion of our 
necessary food and clothing, upon the cow and the sheep ; 
and to the labor of the patient, uncomplaining ox, and the 
exertions of the strength and muscular power of the sa- 
gacious and intelligent horse, we are deeply and largely 



118 CRUELTY TO ANIMALS. 

indebted. I say nothing of the pleasure we enjoy by 
means of the docihty and fleetness of this animal. And 
yet how miserably are they oftentimes supplied with food, 
and other necessary animal comforts ; and with what sav- 
age cruelty are they frequently treated ! Oh, how has 
my bosom burned with indignation when I have seen a 
drunken boor beat and bruise the horse (more intellectual 
than himself) which had carried his burdens and borne 
his own body from place to place — the quiet and gentle 
ox, which by his hard labor had turned the clod and pre- 
pared the earth to furnish him with bread — the uncom- 
plaining sheep, whose fleece had protected him from the 
cold blasts of winter — and the mild and inoffensive cow, 
which had supplied his wife and children with their most 
healthful and delicious food ! Rely upon it, my good 
friend, that of all animals man is the most savage. In- 
deed, he is not only a savage, but, as respects other ani- 
mals, he is a ruthless tyrant." 

" And so he is," interrupted the Quaker, " to some of 
hii*"own species." 

"There are, however," continued Mr. Thornton, " hon- 
orable exceptions among men in respect to the inhuman 
treatment of brute animals ; and, in truth, when I com- 
menced this course of remark, I had in my mind an anec- 
dote of Bishop Hobart of New York, which I beg leave to 
relate. The diocese of that reverend and pious prelate 
extended over the whole of the great state of New York, 
and though his constitution was feeble and sickly, he 
generally visited each year every congregation under his 
pastoral care. In many parts of the state the country was 
new, and the roads were bad. He was, therefore, obliged 
to travel with his own horse. In performing these long 
journeys, he felt deeply the great obligation he owed to 



ANECDOTE OF BISHOP HOBART. 



119 



the horse which bore him, and in his kind and naturally 
benevolent heart an affectionate attachment was generated 
towards those animals by whose labors he was enabled to 
perform his tedious and sometimes solitary journeys, 
something akin to the attachment we feel towards the 
members of our own family. The pure and sensitive 
mind of the good bishop could not endure the thought of 
permitting the horses which had been worn out m liis 
service and had become superannuated by age, to be thrown 
upon the mercy of strangers, and he therefore purchased 
a farm on the Jersey shore for a home for those horses, 
and employed and paid a man to take care of them. When 
they became too old to eat hay and oats, he directed that 
they should be kept in warm and comfortable stables, and 
fed with meal till they should die of old age." 

The Quaker's eyes glistened at this story, and he de- 
clared that the bishop had, in this instance, carried out the 
true spirit of Christianity. I could not help remarking that, 
without regard to any and all other good which the bishop 
had done, he ought, for the single act related by Mr. 
Thornton, to be now— where 1 believed he was— in 

Heaven.* 

Before we arrived at Baltimore, Mr. Thornton and I 
agreed to stop at Barnum's hotel. Tiie Quaker informed 
us that he resided in the city, and I had gradually acquired 
a feehng of so much interest in respect to him, that as we 
were ge'tting out of the carriage I begged him to excuse 
me for inquiring his name. "My name," said he, "is 
Benjamin Lundy ; thee can hear of me, and generally 



* Our author is here guiltv of a most palpable anachronism. This con- 
versation is supposed to have occurred in the year 1820, and B,shop 
Hobart lived many years afterwards.— £e/i<or. 



120 HISTORY- OF THORNTON. 

see me, at No. — in street. Thee may enter at the 

door over which is wriu.cn, ' The Genius of Universal 
Emancipation.' " And Benjamin Lundy it was — the 
purest and most benevolent man that ever set foot on the 
American soil, and, perhaps, who ever trod upon the 
earth. I clasped his extended hand with ardor, and said, 
" I already know much of you, but wish to know more." 



CHAPTER VI. 



TOBIAS THORNTON, 



Mr. Thornton and I remained several days at 
Barnum's Hotel in Baltimore, during which time I be- 
came intimate with him ; and the foundation of a friend- 
ship between us was laid, which I hope and trust will 
continue during my life. As I shall hereafter have oc- 
casion often to mention him, and intend presenting my 
readers with several of his letters, I think it proper 
in this place to give a brief account of his life and 
character. 

Tobias Thornton was the son of a poor man who 
occupied a small farm near the Green Mountains in the 
state of Vermont. His father's family was large, and 
the means for the support and education of the children 
within the control of the parent were, as I have stated, 
very much restricted. At the age of sixteen the health 
of Tobias became impaired, and his mother insisted that 
his constitution was too feeble to enable him to get his 
living by manual labor. He had early distinguished him- 



' HISTORY OF THORNTON. 121 

self in the district school in the neighborhood of his 
father, for his rapid progress in the rudiments taught 
there, and was regarded by the good people in the dis- 
trict, as a lad of uncommon talents. It was therefore 
determined that he should get the best education he 
could, and endeavor to live by his learning. But how 
was he to be educated ? His father had not the means 
of paying his expenses for a single month at any of the 
high schools in that region. Tobias had merely learned 
to read and write — had become pretty well versed in 
plain arithmetic, and had acquired some knowledge of 
the English grammar. With these qualifications, at that 
early age he commenced teaching a common school. 
He succeeded so well in that employment, that before 
he was twenty years old, by the consent of his parents, 
he left his native town and wandered into one of the 
northern counties of the state of New York, to seek his 
fortune. There he resumed his pedagogical labors on 
a salary not exceeding one hundred dollars per annum, 
and continued in that business until he was admitted as a 
student or clerk in the office of a country attorney. By 
rigid economy and unyielding perseverance, he eventually 
succeeded in obtaining a license to practise in his pro- 
fession. 

1 will not here detain the reader by a relation of the 
struggles, the difficulties, and the mortifications which 
this young man, who was without influential relations and 
stricken with poverty, was doomed to encounter. Thorn- 
ton never refers to this portion of his life, without mani- 
festing a very deep tone of feeling, which was undoubtedly 
excited by the recollection of what he felt and suffered at 
that time. His success in the practice of his profession 
was no more than ordinary ; but he had not been long 



122 HISTORY OF THORNTON. 

in business, when, by a mere accident, he was employed 
by Mr. WiUiam McBride, a merchant in Albany, to 
secure a small debt for him in the county in which 
Thornton resided. This circumstance introduced him 
to an acquaintance with Mr. McBride — an acquaintance 
which produced the most auspicious results. 

I must interrupt the story of Thornton long enough to 
say, that I was myself acquainted with Mr. McBride. 
He was an Irishman who came to this country about the 
year 1796, with no otlier resources than his own native 
powers of mind. He died a few years before I left 
America, and upon his death it was ascertained that 
he had accumulated an estate of nearly two millions of 
dollars. He was charged with being rigid and severe in 
the means he took to increase his stock of wealth ; but 
I believe this charge was unfounded. So far from Mr. 
McBride being a hard and severe man, I personally 
know he was strictly just in all his dealings — that he 
did many acts of kindness, and sometimes manifested 
great liberality. It is true, he preferred helping those 
who he believed would help themselves, or in other 
words, he preferred giving aid to those to whom that aid 
would be of permanent use. He judged of men with 
great accuracy. Of all men I ever knew, Mr. McBride 
would ascertain the true character and look through the 
heart of a stranger the quickest. He loved his friend 
with all the ardor of an Irishman.* 

Under the advisement of Mr. McBride, and aided by 
his credit, Thornton, during the war of 1812, as a con- 
tractor to furnish supplies to the American army, and 



* We suspect our autlior. uuder the fictitious name of jMcEride, 
meaus to describe tiiu late iNIr. \Villia.-*i .Iamks of Albany. — Editor. 



1 



HISTORY CF THORNTON. 



123 



by some fortunate speculations, succeeded so well, that 
at the peace in 1815, he found himself worth in cash 
$100,000. This sum he immediately invested in treasury 
notes' and government stock, which, as soon as the United 
States Bank was chartered, rose at the rate of twenty per 

cent. . 

From this brief sketch of the life of Thornton, it will 
be perceived he was entirely a self-made man. I will 
only add that he was extravagantly fond of books, and 
that from the time he was twelve years old, he vora- 
ciously devoured, but without system or arrangement, the 
writings of every author which fell in his way. One 
day it was history, the next natural philosophy-then 
poetry, fiction, pohtics, devotional, and skeptical works, 
&c., &c., engrossed his time and attention. Knowledge 
from boo'ks, if knowledge it may be called, was lum- 
bered up in his mind, like that heterogeneous mass of 
matter which one may imagine a monomaniac might col- 
lect and store away in his garret— that is to say, blocks 
of wood, pieces of old iron, brass, and lead-pieces of 
silver, gold, and tinsel— the whole formed into one mass 
by a quantity of filth transported from the kitchen. 
The vigorous intellect and clear mental vision of Thorn- 
ton in Sterlife was employed, and successfully employed, 
in sorting, classifying, arranging, and purifying the con- 
fused mass of ideas which had been thus, as it were, 
casually thrown into his mind. I say, successfully, al- 
though it may be that even yet he has not entirely sepa- 
rated the German silver and the high-colored brass and 
tinsel, from the pure silver and virgin gold. 

In religion, or rather m theology, I have some reason 
to believe Thornton was inclined to be skeptical. At any 
rate, I discovered, but not till 1 had been acquainted witti 



124 HISTORY OF THORNTON. 

him for several years, that he doubted some parts of what 
IS called revealed religion. I know, however, that he 
firmly believed in an eternal God, the great soul of the 
universe, in a superintending Providence, in human ac- 
countability, and the immortality of the soul. I have said 
somewhere that Thornton was a pious man, and I believe 
it, notwithstanding he indulged the unreasonable doubts I 
have mentioned. I know from his Diary, a part of which 
he requested me, for another purpose, to peruse, that he 
never surrendered himself to sleep without an humble ex- 
pression of his gratitude to the great Giver of all good, 
and without imploring his protection, and begging to be 
resigned lo the dispensations of his providence. He re- 
spected and venerated all religious sects, nor did he limit 
his respect and charity to Christians only. He extended 
his kind feelings to the Jew, the Mahommedan, and even to 
the Pagan. He has told me he never could reconcile it 
to his conscience to attempt to disturb the religious faith 
of man or woman, provided their religious notions did not 
lead to immorality. " For this reason," said he, " I sel- 
dom discuss theological questions, and never in presence 
of those whom I know to be attached to any particular 
system. If a man," he would say, " sincerely worships 
the great and eternal God of the universe, to me it is 
quite immaterial by what name he may call that tremen- 
dous power." 

Mr. Thornton, immediately after the termination of the 
war with Great Britain, wisely declined business, and 
with his wife and child visited Europe. On account of 
the ill-health of his wife, he returned sooner than he in- 
tended, having merely travelled over England, Scotland, 
and Ireland, and penetrated the continent as far as Paris. 
Not long after his return his wife and child died, and 



VISIT TO BENJAMIX LUNDY. 125 

when I first became acquainted with him he was alone in 
the world, and remains so to this day. 

He refuses to join any sect in religion or party in poli- 
tics. He is a mere looker-on, a citizen of the world. 
He condemns such principles as in his judgment deserve 
condemnation, and he censures or applauds with free- 
dom and independence such public men and measures as, 
in his opinion, challenge his approbation or merit his de- 
nunciation. In England there are many such men ; in 
America there are few — I wish there were more. 



CHAPTER VH. 



Visit to Benjamin Lundy — Conversation between Mr. Lundy and Mr. 
Thornton on the subject of the Abolition of Slavery — Reasons urged by 
Thornton why moral suasion will never produce the liberation of Slaves 
— Merchants, Ship-owners, Mechanics, and Clergy of the Free States 
— Their feelings as respects the question of Slavery. 

On the third day after our arrival at Baltimore, Mr. 
Thornton and I agreed to make a call on Mr. Lundy. 
We were both of us subscribers for, and readers of his 
paper, which was called " The Genius of Universal 
Emancipation ;" and we were anxious to cultivate a per- 
sonal acquaintance with him. But before I again intro- 
duce my reader to Benjamin Lundy, I will remark brief- 
ly that he was, in my judgment, one of the most extraor- 
dinary men of the age. He had, I believe, been brought 
up to a mechanical trade ; I lliink it was that of a saddle 
and harness-maker, a business which he had for a few 
years pursued in one of the villages in Ohio with great 
success, so far as related to his pecuniary affairs ; but 



126 BENJAMIN LUNDY. 

while thus successfully engaged in the acquisition of 
weallh, his sensitive mind became powerfully impressed 
with the evils and injustice of slavery. So palpably unjust 
was it in his view for one man to claim to own another, and 
hold him as a chattel, that he thought if the naked question 
could be brought distinctly and clearly before the ximeri- 
can people, the human mind could not resist truths which 
were to his mind so obvious ; and that all men, if they 
could be brought to listen to his arguments, would think 
as he thought, and of course that the claimant of a 
property in human and immortal beings, would abandon 
his claim and let the oppressed go free. So ardent was 
his benevolence, and so great was his zeal for the liberty 
of the slave, that he discontinued a very profitable busi- 
ness in Ohio, sold his property there, and converted the 
avails into money, with which he founded and established 
the first liberty newspaper in America, at the city of Bal- 
timore ; and bravely concluding that the best plan to at- 
tack an enemy was at his citadel, he located himself in a 
slavcholding city. At a great personal sacrifice, he con- 
tinued, in the face of the most formidable and bitter oppo- 
sition, to publish his journal. Eventually, but after the 
time when I was first introduced to him, he was forced 
by persecution, and by the want of means, to give up tlic 
publication of his paper in Baltimore. But he did not 
give up tlic cause of the negro slave. The United 
States constitution prevented the slave from finding a rest- 
ing-place in any of the free states of the Union. Ben- 
jamin Lundy sought to find some spot on the great conti- 
nent of America, which might be rendered an asylum 
for the oppressed negro. With this view he went to 
Texas, then a part of the Mexican Republic, and from 
thence travelled on foot to the city of Mexico, in the hope 



CONVERSATION WITH LUNBY. 127 

of negotiating with the Mexican government for a safe re- 
treat for the descendants of Africa in some part of that 
Republic. In this, it seems, lie was unsuccessful ; and 
afterwards this real apostle of liberty sailed for St. Do- 
mingo, with a view of encouraging that unhappy people to 
stand firm in defence of their hberties, and in the hope 
that some portions of our black population might find pro- 
tection there. I am but slightly acquainted with the par- 
ticulars which relate to the life of Benjamin Lundy. His 
biography, it is true, has been written and published, but 
I have not^een it ; still, however, I do know enough of 
him to reiterate the assertion, that no more disinterestedly 
benevolent man ever trod on American ground, than this 
same Benjamin Lundy. 

We found Mr. Lundy in his office, sitting at a table 
covered over with open letters, newspapers, and pam- 
phlets. He received us with a cordial welcome. 

" Friend Melbourn," said he, " since we parted I have 
been led to believe from some old memorandums I have 
been looking over, that thee was born a slave in North 
Carolina, and was liberated and educated by that ex- 
cellent woman, the widow Melbourn. Am I right in that 
conjecture ?" 

" You are quite right," said I, " my liberty, education, 
and property are the gifts of that benevolent lady." 

" And a kind and merciful God," said Lundy. 

" And what are your prospects of success in the great 
and good work in which you are engaged," I inquired. 

" Alas," said Mr. Lundy, " I am sorry that I cannot 
encourage myself or my friends, that my ardent desire 
for universal emancipation will be speedily accomplished. 
The human mind is sordid and selfish. Man is fond of 
power. He delights in exercising authority over his fel- 



128 LUNDY AND THORNTON. 

low man. Give every man the power of Nero, and we 
shall find many Neros, even among our most zealous 
republicans. The acquisition of Louisiana, and the late 
extension, by the consent of Congress, of the area of 
slaveiy over the vast territory of Missouri, will increase 
the demand for slaves, and encourage the raising of slaves 
in the old slave states. Hence Virginia and Maryland, 
which from considerations of political economy were be- 
ginning to devise plans of gradual emancipation, have en- 
tirely changed their views on that subject, and the people 
of those states now talk of the raising and exportation of 
slaves to the new southwestern states, as the staple 
commodity of the country. Henry Clay, Henry Clay ! 
a man whom I admire and love. Henry Clay lias done 
an irreparable injury to the human race by his course on 
the Missouri question. But he himself will be punished 
for his own sin. The south will never forgive him for 
consenting to a compromise with the north, and the north 
never will unite as against the south in his support. But," 
continued Lundy with a sigh, " it is said the darkest time 
occurs immediately before the dawn of day, and I would 
fain hope that such in this instance will be the fact. At 
any rate, I shall continue to labor, be the event what it 
may, and I humbly hope that God in his own good time 
will hear the groans of the oppressed, and relieve them. 
I believe," continued Lundy, " I loill believe," and a lam- 
bent flame flashed from his eye, " that the genius of uni- 
versal emancipation will ere long pervade these United 
States." 

" And by what means," said Thornton, " to be put in 
operation by human agents, do you propose to liberate 
the slaves in the slaveholding states ?" 

" By an appeal," answered Mr. Lundy, " to the con- 



LUNDY AND THORNTON. 129 

science of the slaveholder himself, and by an address to 
the judgment and understanding of the people of the 
slaveholding states. I can demonstrate to them, and 
indeed, I have demonstrated the gross injustice and 
wanton cruelty of slavery ; that it is morally and po- 
litically wrong ; that it is an outrage on human rights, 
treason against the most sacred principles of our national 
and state governments, and a flagrant sin against Al- 
mighty God. In short, I would use moral suasion alone. 
I would, and I do discourage resistance by the slaves. I 
protest, as by my religion I am bound to do, against all 
physical force. By these means Wilbcrforce, and Clark- 
son, and Pitt, and other philanthropists of Great Britain, 
have succeeded in suppressing the slave-trade, and by 
these means, and these argum.ents, this letter," taking one 
from his table, " which is from that great and good man, 
Clarkson, assures me that in a very short time, it is mor- 
ally certain that the British parliament will be induced to 
pass a law to liberate the slaves in the West India islands." 

" I grant you," said Mr. Thornton, "' because I believe 
that a majority in liie British parliament will shortly en- 
act a law for emancipating the West India slaves ; but I 
deny that the legislature of any of the slaveholding states 
of this Union, except, perhaps, the state of Delaware, 
will ever be induced by the means you suggest, to liberate 
their slaves." 

" We shall do more than I have mentioned to aid the 
cause of emancipation," said Mr. Lundy ; " we are now 
about organizing Anti-slavery Societies in all the free 
states, who will raise funds to support the apostles of 
liberty, who will go forth to preach liberty to the captives, 
and the opening of the prison doors to those who are un- 
justly bound in chains. The mighty power of the press 



130 LUNDY AND THORNTON. 

Will be put in requisition, and instead of my solitary 
weekly sheet, thousands of periodicals will issue from it, 
arousing the attention of the people of the free states to 
the dreadful condition of their suffering colored brethren 
of the south. Rely upon it, my friend, the human mind 
cannot resist the truths which will be urged so univer- 
sally, and with such power." 

''I deeply regret," rephed Thornton, "to declaie to 
you, that in my judgment, the means you propose are 
wholly inadequate to accomplish the end you have in 
view, and my regret is greatly increased from my know- 
ledge of the fact, that you are influenced by the most 
pure and benevolent motives, and because that from my 
Lost soul, I abhor and detest slavery. Nothing could 
give me more cordial satisfaction than to see it abolished 
by peaceable means ; that is, by moral suasion alone,- 
but this cannot be, and I will give you my reasons in de- 
tail, though I fear I shall talk so long that I shall trespass 
on your time, and exhaust your patience." 

-Not at all," said the Quaker, " I will hear thee with 
pleasure, and I hope with profit." 

" Well then," said Mr. Thornton, " in forming an opin- 
ion how the majority of men will act on any given question, 
either in politics or morals, we must consider men as they 
are, and not as they ovght to he. It is from a neglect of 
this axiom (as I deem it) that philanthropists hke you, 
friend Lundy, frequently err. They are conscious of the 
pvritv of their own motives, and the rectitude of their own 
principles, and ihey naturally conclude that all other men, 
if furnished wiih the same lights, will think and act as they 
do The result generally disappoints their expectations. 
What is the situation of the slaveholder m North Carolina, 
where my friend Melbourn was born ? His parents, grand- 



I 



THORN T03NS ARGUMENT. 



131 



parents, great grand-parents, for more than two centuries, 
have held the negro as property. That property has come 
down to him from those for whom he has the highest 
reverence and respect. He has been accustomed to have 
his menial services performed by slaves quite as long, and 
with as little question of the right of demanding those ser- 
vices, as that his grains should be transported to the mill 
by his beasts of burden. The practice of his forefathers, 
tradition, and his own habits, to say nothing of his love of 
ease, have rendered his mind imperviable to any reason 
which can be urged in behalf of the negro. You might 
as well attempt to convince him that it was wrong to com- 
pel the ox or the horse to labor for his benefit or pleasure. 
But habit, tradition, and the love of ease in the master, are 
not the only obstacles to the manumission of the slave. A 
more formidable— nay, in my judgment, an insurmount- 
able one remains to be mentioned, which is pecuniary m- 
terest. However we, as moralists, or politicians, may 
reason, the slave is considered by law as the property of 
his master ; and, in some respects, much as I detest sla- 
very, I am compelled to admit that, as relates to the mas- 
ter, he is so ; for the slave comes to his master, either by 
descent as lands and goods descend to him by bequest of 
deceased friends, or by a bona fide purchase. Who among 
us can be reasoned into a belief that he ought to give up, 
or, as the property-holder will say, to sacrifice his property? 
From long habit, and the unanimous opinion of all around 
him, the slaveholder regards his slave as much his prop- 
erty as his horse, his bank stock, or his land. 

" Suppose you were to endeavor to persuade the farmer 
of New England that he ought to relinquish to the public 
his claim to his farm ; or argue with the speculator, who 
has purchased a section of wild, uncultivated land in Ohio, 



132 Thornton's argument. 

or Indiana, that he has no natural, exclusive right to that 
land, (and, in truth, he has not,) and, therefore, he ought 
to abandon it to the first occupant ; or suppose you were 
to exhort the bank stockholder of New York to give up 
his bank stock, for the reason that banking is what I be- 
lieve it to be, an unjust monopoly, and an encroachment 
on the rights of community, will any man of common 
sense indulge the expectation that any process of reason- 
ing would induce the farmer to surrender his farm, the 
speculator his title to a portion of the wilderness, or the 
banker his charter for the exclusive right of issuing bank 
notes? If you answer, as you must answer, in the nega- 
tive, then I affirm that neither will the master give up his 
property, which, according to the law of the state in which 
he lives, he has invested in his slave." 

" But," said I, " a majority of the voters, who create the 
legislature in the slaveholding states, are not slave-owners. 
Why, then, may not the arguments of friend Lundy be 
successfully addressed to them ?" 

" It may be true," said Thornton, " that the majority of 
the voters in the slave states do not hold slaves, but every 
state in this union is governed by the public opinion in 
that state. Now, public opinion is created, if I may so 
express myself, by the opinion of the most intelligent and 
influential men in the several neighborhoods which com- 
pose a given state. Take, for illustration, the common 
school districts in the state of New York. There are proba- 
bly 10,000 of those districts in that state. I will venture to 
say that public opinion, in each of those districts, is created 
on an average by not more than three or four men. True, 
there will be parties in each district, in religion and in poli- 
tics, but those parties generally originate from a difference 
of opinion between these three or four leading men , but 



Thornton's argument. 133 

when you collect the aggregate of opinions in the ten thou- 
sand school districts in the state of New York, on any 
given question, you obtain the public opinion of the state 
of New York ; and this opinion, when traced to its source, 
is merely the opinion of about one-seventh part only of its 
inhabitants. 

" Now, the slaveholders in the state of North Carolina, 
for instance, though numerically in the minority, yet, in 
consequence of their wealth, when compared with the non- 
slaveholding citizens, and their superior intelligence, do 
govern, have governed, and will govern, public opinion in 
that state, and of course control the popular vote of the 
slate. When, then, will North Carolina voluntarily manu- 
mit her slaves ? Never, never H I have conceded that 
the British parliament will abolish slavery in the West 
Indies. But who compose the members of that body ? 
Every one of them are inhabitants of Great Britain and 
Ireland — a spot of earth so sacred to personal liberty, that 
the moment a slave steps his foot on that soil, his chains 
fall from him. But suppose the majority in parliament 
were planters from Jamaica, or were chosen by Jamaica 
slaveholders, when, then, would slavery be abolished in 
Jamaica ? I again answer — never, never !" 

" But," said Mr. Lundy, " if we can, as we hope we 
shall, excite the whole people of the free states to exert 
their influence and efforts, politically and morally, in 
behalf of the abolition of human slavery, will not their 
voice have a powerful effect upon the slaveholders of the 
south ?" 

" I fear," said Thornton, " that even your hope of exci- 
ting the people of the northern free states to use their in- 
fluence, politically or otherwise, for the freedom of the 
slave, will prove delusive. 



134 Thornton's argument. 

" The influence of the national patronage will be, as it 
has lately been in relation to the Missouri question, ex- 
erted in behalf of extending and perpetuating slavery. 
The people of the slave states, conscious as they are of 
their physical weakness, by reason of slavery, are, from 
a principle of self-defence, extremely anxious and on the 
alert to preserve and increase their political power. 
Hence, while the north and west are always divided, and 
by means of those divisions their vote in the selection of 
a national executive is nearly neutralized, the slave states, 
urged by their common interest and common danger, act 
in harmony and give a united vote. By this means, ever 
since the organization of the national government, with a 
single interregnum of four years, the president has been a 
slaveholder and an inhabitant of a slaveholding slate. And 
such will continue, from the nature of the case, to be the re- 
sult of our presidential elections. Of this I have not a shad- 
ow of doubt. I need notwasle words withyou, friend Lundy, 
in proving the immense influence of executive patronage, 
especially in the great states of New York and Pennsyl- 
vania, over the political and social actions of men. What 
mere politician at the north will volunteer an opinion in 
favor of the liberty of the slave, when he knows that the 
promulgation of that opinion will, so far as the national 
executive is concerned, disfranchise him ? 

" But there are obstacles, other than political, to the 
success of your scheme, even in the free states. The 
lowest, and yet a very numerous class of white people, as 
well at the north as the south, possess no sympathies in 
favor of the black population, whether they be free or 
whether they be slaves. Your object, my friend, and the 
object of every enlightened and benevolent man, is to ele- 
vate the moral character of the colored race. This object 



Thornton's argument. 135 

does not accord with the feehngs of the lowest class of 
whites The degradation occasioned by slavery has in- 
duced a feeling of contempt for the whole colored race. 
The philosopher readily traces back this feeling to its true 
cause. He perceives that the degradation of the negro 
has been produced by an act of injustice done by our- 
selves, and therefore he will not tolerate a prejudice really 
founded upon it. The ignorant, the unreflecting and reck- 
less, are incapable of this process of reasoning, and there- 
fore think and act from impressions, created they know 
not why or wherefore. Besides, there is a propensity in 
every man, however degraded or low he may be in socie- 
ty' to be superior to some other man or men. If, then, 
the most ignorant and vulgar white man, according to the 
laws of the society in which he lives, can claim a supe- 
riority over another man, in consequence of a difference 
in the color of his skin, it is a superiority acquired, or 
rather which is cast upon him at so cheap a rate, that it is 
extremely natural that he should be, and indeed is, de- 
sirous of preserving a law of society so gratefulto his own 
feelings. Hence I venture to predict, that in your future 
efforts'', you will everywhere be compelled to hear the 
shouts of the mob against you. 

" I also apprehend you will find the shipping and mer- 
cantile interests and influence against you. The mer- 
chant and the shipper's attention is called to the balance- 
sheet of profit and loss. What can the ship-owner and 
importing merchant gain from the poor slave, and what 
may he not lose from the hostility of the planter ? 

" The interest, likewise, of the northern manufacturer 
and mechanic is m favor of slavery. Nothing is more 
certain than that manufacturing establishments cannot 
flourish m a slave state. There are not, and never will 



1 



136 



THORNTON S ARGUMENT, 



be, in such a slate,- a sufficient number of white laborers 
who will work at day wages, to supply any considerable 
Dumber of factories with operatives, and the slave-owners 
dare not permit such a number of slaves to be grouped to- 
gether as are necessary to work a factory of a reasonable 
size. Nor can the mechanic arts be prosecuted success- 
fully in a country where manual labor is mainly perform- 
ed by slaves. Hence the cabinet-ware, the shoes, and 
even the wearing apparel of the people of the south, are 
furnished by the cities of the north ; and I am much mis- 
taken if your anti-slavery associations will not have to 
encounter a fierce opposition from the cabinet-makers of 
Philadelphia, Boston, &c., as well as from the shoema- 
kers of Lynn,* and all other places of that description. 
For the honor of our northern colleges and other literary 
institutions, and even the Christian religion itself, I wish 
I could stop here, but I cannot. You well know that a 
large proportion of the southern young men receive their 
education at the northern universities. The expenditures 
of these young men in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New 
York, and New Jersey, amount to a large sum of money 
annually ; and the professors, managers, and victuallers 
of those institutions are deepl}' interested in preserving 
and continuing the attendance of tliese young gentlemen 
at their respective colleges, academies, and theological 
schools. Nineteen-twentieths of these southern students 
are the sons of slaveholders. When therefore it is con- 
sidered that each of these literary establishments, as for 
instance Yale College, in Connecticut, or the Andover 
Theological Seminary, in Massachusetts, depends mainly 



* The mob which took place at Lynn, some years after this conversa- 
tion, verifies the prediction of Mr. Thornton. — Editor. 



Thornton's argument. 137 

for its support on the patronage of slaveholders, is it to be 
presumed its faculty and its trustees will tolerate, not to 
say encourage, your war upon slavery ? Sir, they will 
not. 

" The various sects of Christians at the north are anx- 
ious to extend their respective creeds, and multiply their 
numbers in the southern states. The parent, in Connec- 
ticut, who educates his son for the ministry, is very well 
pleased if that son can be well and comfortably settled at 
the south. Will these rival sectarians make war on the 
domestic institutions of the southern states ? Will the 
candidate for a settlement in the ministry in South Caro- 
lina, or the father and friends of that candidate in Con- 
necticut, denounce slavery ? Will he encourage the 
slaves in that state to read the Bible, contrary to its laws ? 
I tell you, my friend, he will not. The so-called benevo- 
lent societies of the north, such, for instance, as the Bible 
and Foreign Missionary societies, annually receive large 
contributions from the rich southern planters, contribu- 
tions which are filched from the earnings of the slave. 
Why, sir, but a few days ago, a pious widow lady of Al- 
exandria, who was the owner of a negro man and his wife 
and five children, sold the man and two of the children to 
a planter in the state of Louisiana for five hundred dol- 
lars, which she received in two drafts on the Bank of 
America, one for three hundred and the other for two 
hundred dollars ; and I have now in my pocket the draft 
for two hundred dollars, endorsed by the widow, to the 
order of the treasurer of the Bible Society in New York, 
as a donation to that institution, in testimony of the zeal 
of the donor for the good cause. Do you think this so- 
ciety, in any of their proceedings, will utter a word against 
slavery ? Thus, unless I am grossly mistaken, the preju- 



138 Thornton's argument. 

dices of a very numerous class — the populace, — are inva- 
riably against the color of the African, and therefore they 
feel little sympathy for the slave ; and the interest of the 
politician and office-seeker, the ship-ow^ner, the importing 
merchant, the manufacturer and the mechanic, the litera- 
ry institutions and the clergy of the northern free states, 
is against your enterprise, hovi^ever just and however be- 
nevolent that enterprise may be. 

" Do not, therefore, give your money to lecturers and 
missionaries in behalf of the slave ; they will be laughed 
at and mobbed by the people of the north, and lynched 
and murdered by the people of the south. 

*' What, then, you will ask, is nothing to be done for the 
cause of liberty and human rights ? Must the degradation 
and suffering of the African be perpetual ? Will you ex- 
tinguish in the bosom of the pliilanthropist the last glim- 
mering of even hope itself? I answer, much may, and 
ought to be done. But slavery has existed for centuries. 
In the south it has grown up with the states. Its extir- 
pation must be gradual. It cannot, except by carnage 
and slaughter, be suddenly abolished. Continue the pub- 
lication of your paper, and by that, and other publications 
of a similar nature, keep the subject before the American 
people. Vote against every candidate for Congress w^ho 
will not, when elected, oppose the extension of the area 
of slavery, and who will not vote for the abolition of the 
slave-trade between the different states. Refrain from 
supporting or countenancing those ministers of religion 
who either directly or indirectly justify and sustain the 
horrid position, that one man may rightfully own another. 
But, in my judgment, the best, and perhaps the only 
peaceable means of producing universal emancipation, is 
by elevating the standard of morals' and the character of 



1 '^Q 
Thornton's argument. 

the free colored people among us. To effect Ais, philan- 
opic and benevolent men in every free state m the 
U„rshould organize for the purpose of see.ng t at co - 
ored children shall be educated, and well educated m- 
cements should be held out to the >-"S. "^f j' 
followntR servile employment, to learn and pursue the 
^ :hani' arts, agriculture, mercant.le - jro ess» 
business A systematic course of respectful treatment 
sh u U e put tn pracfce towards those colored men and 
women who possess talents and tnerit irrespecfve of then 

"'"For a most obvious reason, the slaveholders have 
caused Congress to enact a law-in wh.cb, as m all then 
eals fo: perpetuating slavery, the members from th 
free states have concurred-that no colored man shal b 
enrolled n, the m.litia. Hence all pracucal know ge , 
„„litary evolutions and tactics is kept from that c ass ot 
ou cLens. Instead of raising funds to pay aboht.on 
e tur , I would ra.se a fund for .he establishment an 
en :m;nt of an academy for the instructton of colored 
youth, similar nr all respects to that at West P-^' J'^ 
LpU should be selected from the most FC-'-s"" ? 
the colored race. There let them not only be taught 
„„,Hary and natural sconce, but let t em be taugh se f- 
recoect that they belong to the great family of man and 
: ,e t lem wiU, a high, a noble, and exalted ambitiom 
yI: len thus educated will be the best lec^rers and 
nnssio'naries to effect the abolition of slavery, becausm 
heir own persons they will afford a demonstration of what 
Ihe African race may be when equal competition is allow- 

''""Tarn-let an establishment be provided, west of the 
Rocky Mountains, and north of Mr. Clay's Compromise 



140 Thornton's argument. 

Line, where those free blacks who choose to live separate 
from the whites may be settled ; let the territory be suf- 
ficiently large for the creation of some three or four states, 
and let them there organize governments, either as states 
of this Union, or as an independent nation. If those 
highly intelligent, wealthy, and benevolent men, who feel 
and think with you on the subject of slavery, — and thank 
God there are many such, — would concentrate their pecu- 
niary means, their influence, and their efforts, with a view 
to effect some of the objects I have suggested, then, in- 
deed, I should be cheered with the hope that thi injured, 
the abused, and suffering negro, would, at some future 
time, rise to an equal rank with his fellow men." 

Thornton now begged pardon for having taken up so 
much of our time in presenting his views, but Benjamin 
Lundy assured him he had been very agreeably enter- 
tained. 

" And I fear," said Benjamin, "there is too much truth 
in what thee has said. I cannot, however, give my as- 
sent to some of thy positions ; and indeed, thee thyself 
must perceive that thy scheme of giving a military educa- 
tion to colored boys, squints too much at wars and fight- 
ing to receive the approbation of an humble follower of 
George Fox." 

Thornton and I soon after took our leave of this good 
man. 



REMARKS ON THORNTON's VIEWS. 141 



CHAPTER VIII. 

The Author's Reflections on the opinions expressed by Thornton — Coloni- 
zation Society — Conversation with a Negro Stage-driver. 

I REFLECTED much On the views presented by Thorn- 
ton, and it appeared to me then, as it does now — although 
the history of the opposition in the free states of America 
for several years now past, to the abolitionists, seems to 
prove his opinions in the main correct — that he was too 
illiberal, that the majority of men were not so entirely 
governed by narrow, selfish motives, as he represented ; 
and I could not but believe that palpable and clear moral 
truths, and sound political axioms, would eventually pre- 
vail over those sordid and selfish propensities which he 
seemed to think would control the political and moral ac- 
tion of the American people. 

I also think that Thornton does mjustice to the Ameri- 
can clergy, at least I am sure he does to the clergy of the 
state of New York. I personally know many of them, 
whom I believe to be honestly desirous for the universal 
emancipation of slaves, and the elevation of the character 
of the blacks in the free states. Their opinions on this 
subject they express freely, not only in their parochial 
visits, but in the pulpit. 

It is worthy of remark that neither Thornton nor Lundy 
noticed the Colonization Society as a scheme which prom- 
ised any benefit to the black man of America. Hence 1 
inferred that they did not anticipate any good from that 
project, and I afterwards ascertained that that inference 



142 COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 

was correct ; in which opinion I entirely concur. That 
the society can ever effect the emancipation of the negro 
race in America is so obviously absurd, that no man who 
has any brains can fail of perceiving it. As a means of 
extending Christianity and the arts of civilization in West- 
ern Africa, it may be beneficial, but in my judgment it 
will retard, and was by many intended to retard, the lib- 
eration of the slave in the United States. It was calcu- 
lated to drain the free states of their most intelligent, 
enterprising, and meritorious colored citizens, while it 
enabled the slaveholder to send to a returnless distance 
from his native country, the resolute and daring slave, 
whom it might be dangerous to retain on his plantation. 
It was an ignis fatuus, to delude tender consciences, and 
divert the action of unthinking but benevolent men and 
women from affording effectual relief to the slave by a 
mere show of it. The project is universally unpopular 
with the colored people of America. They regard trans- 
portation to Africa as a banishment from their native land 
to an unhealthy, savage country. This idea to many is 
more terrible than death itself. 

In the year 1816, a few days after the Colonization So- 
ciety was organized at Washington, I went in the stage 
from that city to Richmond, in Virginia. The weather 
was pleasant, and for the sake of viewing the country, I 
rode a part of the way on the box with the driver, who 
was a negro. By this the reader will perceive it was an 
accommodation, and not the mail stage, for no colored man 
in the United States is permitted to have charge of the 
mail. The driver, who, though a very sensible man, and 
though he was a slave, had heard of the Colonization So- 
ciety lately organized at Washington, and of its objects. 
He soon began to make some inquiries of me about it. 



COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 143 

In my turn I asked wliat he thought of the plan. He 
said he did not Hke it. I expressed my surprise at his 
answer, for at that time I really thought favorably of the 
project ; and I suggested to my companion, that if all the 
colored people in this country were set free, such was 
the prejudice against color that they coula never acquire 
an equal standing with the whites ; that in all the free 
states the blacks were treated as an inferior i-ace of be- 
ings ; that they were excluded from all offices of honor 
and profit ; and that the most worthy colored man was 
not permitted to come to the table, and eat with the mean- 
est white man : that in Liberia it would be entirely differ- 
ent ; that a competition for wealth, promotion, and honor, 
would be as open to the black man there as to the white 
man here. 

He answered, that he had reason to believe Africa was 
a barren country — that he knew it was a savage country, 
with a most unhealthy climate, entirely unsuited to the 
constitution of Americans ; that whoever went there 
would, for many years at any rate, be exposed night and 
day to be murdered by the savages ; and that Liberia 
would be under the government of superstitious and self- 
ish priests ; that the negro loved the soil on which he was 
born as well as the white man ; and that he could not 
endure the idea of banishment for life from his native 
country. 



144 ON READING WORKS OF FICTION. 



CHAPTER IX. 

The Author's reflections on the Utility of Fiction, and the propriety of 
spending time in reading it. Writers of Fiction should describe men 
and tlieir passions truly. 

From Baltimore I accompanied Mr. Thornton to New 
York, in which city, and at Saratoga Springs, I spent the 
greater part of the ensuing summer. 

At New York, during the spring and summer, httle is 
talked of, or apparently thought of, but schemes of money- 
making ; and at Saratoga, nothing is heard of but politics 
and the gayeties and amusements of fashionable life. The 
resolution which I had adopted, not to adventure any thing 
in speculations, prevented my taking much interest in 
what was passing in New York ; and the report of my 
African blood debarred me from mingling with the fash- 
ionable circles at Saratoga. This I did not regret, as 
more leisure was afforded me for solitary rides in the 
country, and for reading ; but I am almost ashamed to 
say, that the novels of Sir Walter Scott, then being issued 
from the press in rapid succession, revived my attachment 
to fiction, which I indulged with 'the ardor of a boy. 
Nothing but the magic power of Sir Walter Scott could 
administer even a temporary relief from the heart-rending 
grief which the continued thoughts of my lost and my 
beloved Maria produced. He, indeed, by his wizard 
wand, could transport me into the glens and among the 
rocks of the Highlands of Scotland, or the castles of the 
lowlands, and enlist my warmest sympathies in the for- 



ON READING FICTION. 145 

tunes of his heroes and their lady loves. And I must be 
permitted lo say even now, when every thing like romance 
in mc must have long since been extinguished by age and 
experience, that the reading of fiction, either in the form 
of narrative, or as presented in dramatic works, is an ex- 
cusable, if not a justifiable or praiseworthy employment of 
a portion of our time. Fiction, well and judiciously writ- 
ten, contains a true description and hislory of the human 
heart and human passions. I am aware that I am now 
treading on contested ground. I know that some of the 
wisest and best among us denounce the reading of novels 
and plays as a useless consumption of time, and as tend- 
ing to produce a pernicious effect on the youthful mind. 
I admit that those works of fiction which present to the 
imagination specimens of iuimanity altogether more per- 
fect or more depraved, I may say more diabolical, than 
can be found in real life — which create those high-wrought 
images of virtue and magnanimity, or those monsters of 
iniquity and crime, which are never found among men, 
but which exist only in the distempered imagination of 
the' novelist — are evil and only evil in their tendency, be- 
cause they teach the young mind to form a false estimate 
of men and things. Nor should too much time be occu- 
pied in reading works of fiction even of the most unex- 
ceptionable kind ; for their natural tendency is to trans- 
fer the mind from the world in which we live, to an 
imaginary or ideal world. Hence I have observed that 
some persons, and especially females, who possess a high 
degree of nervous susceptibility, are ravished with the 
contemplation of the virtues, fortitude, and success of a 
favorite hero or heroine, which is the creature of fancy ; 
or they are sighing and weeping over the sufferings of 
imaginary beings ; but these same ladies have no eyes to 

10 



146 ON READING FICTION. 

perceive ihe merits of those around them, and no tears 
for the distressed, or alms to bestow on the poor and af- 
flicted in their own immediate vicinity. For sympathy 
for real misfortunes, they substitute a sickly sensibihty — 
a morbid sympathy for shadows which exist only in their 
own disordered fancy. But fiction, as it should be writ- 
ten and read, presents a true picture of the action of mind 
under given circumstances. The description of plants, 
trees, animals, &c., is called natural history ; and I would 
denominate well-written fiction the natural history of the 
human heart. Habits, and customs, and fashions, are 
difi'erent in different ages and in different nations ; but the 
substantial qualities of the mind of man, and his passions, 
continue forever the same. They undergo no more 
change than the features of the face. How much have 
custom and dress changed since the days of Elizabeth of 
England ! An English lady and gentleman arrayed in the 
fashionable apparel of the present day, if standing beside 
a gentleman and lady dressed in the court costume of 
Elizabeth, would hardly be supposed to belong to the 
same species of beings. The broad scarlet mantle, the 
gay and fluttering ribands, the glittering buckles, the 
golden spurs, the lofty crape cushion, the hooped petti- 
coat, the extended drapery, &c., would illy accord with 
the present style of dress ; but upon a more close inspec- 
tion, the natural features of the representative of the court 
of Elizabeth, and of Queen Victoria, would be found to 
be the same : the same hand, foot, mouth, eyes, &c. 
Now as face answers to face in water, so does the heart 
of man to man. I remark, then, that those writers of fic- 
tion who (as all ought to do) describe man and woman as 
they are, and were, — (and many writers do so describe 
them,) — those that give us a true account of the action of 



ON READING FICTION. 147 

the mind of man, formed as he is of passions and propen- 
sities which are intended to be regulated by reason and 
judgment — not only afford the reader amusement, but in- 
struction. Goldsmith, though he lived in the last century, 
and three thousand miles from Boston, when in the per- 
son of the wife of the good Vicar of Wakefield he de- 
scribes a mother anxious to advance the fortunes of her 
daughters by procuring for them rich husbands, and using 
innocent tricks and art to accomplish that object, describes 
many affectionate mothers now living in the old city of 
the Puritans. Jenkinson, the horse-jockey in the Wake- 
field market, may yet be found on the Long Island race- 
ground ; and George, the literary vagabond, who had 
such " an excellent knack at hoping," may be seen stroll- 
ing in the streets of Philadelphia or Boston. There are, 
too, in the western world, many honest Farmer Flam- 
boroughs ; and, though not so rich, there are many equally 
amiable Arabella Wilmots. 

Shakspeare, though he lived under the most absolute 
monarch that ever reigned ir) England, when he describes 
Jack Cade, paints to the life the demagogue in the United 
States. When he exhibits the great Cardinal Wolsey 
hastily walking, then suddenly stopping, biting his lips 
and muttering to himself, while with infinite ingenuity and 
expense he is constructing machinery which is to conduct 
him to the papal chair, and invest him with the purple, 
describes the ambitious plotting politician who may now 
be seen at St. James's, or at Washington. His Shylock, 
though an Italian Jew, is, with the exception of his reli- 
gion and the habits of his age, the miser of Wall or 
Chesnut street in New York and Philadelphia. Sir 
Walter Scott has not only described the apparel and hab- 
its of the Scotch Highlander, but he has given a true and 



148 WESTERN STATES. 

vivid picture of the human heart, and human passions, 
which are not only to be found in the Highlands of Scot- 
land, but which are now being daily exhibited in New 
York, in London, and Paris. 

The unlettered and untaught Leather Stocking of 
Cooper, may at this moment be seen wandering along the 
shores of Lake Superior, or moving with stealthy steps 
on the banks of Columbia river. 

My conclusion is, that it is proper to read fiction for the 
purpose of extending our knowledge of the qualities of 
the mind of man, of mental philosophy, and incidentally 
for our own amusement. 



CHAPTER X. 

Remarks on the people of the Western States — Presidential Election in 
1824 — John Quincy Adams — General Jackson — Martin Van Biiren — 
Extra Session of the New York Legislature in August, 1824 — Election 
of Mr. Adams by the House of Representatives of the United States in 
February, 1825 — Charge of a Bargain between Adams and Clay re- 
futed — An occurrence at the Washington Theatre on the evening before 
the Election — The old Federal party. 

From the summer of 1819 to the winter of 1824, I em- 
ployed the greater part of my time in the summers in 
travelling in the eastern and western states, and in the 
winter at the south, chiefly in Charleston and in Raleigh. 
Although a majority of the leading politicians in Ohio, 
Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri, are natives of the southern 
states, and although the emigrants from the south were gen- 
erally more wealthy than those from the north and east, I 
did not fail to perceive that the numerical majority of the 



PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, 1825. 149 

inliabiianls consisted of emigrants, and the descendants 
of emigrants, from the northern and eastern states; that 
Yankee industry and enterprise were gradually giving them 
an ascendency over the natives of the south, and that the 
customs and manners of the New England people were be- 
ing established in the valley of the Ohio ; and I venture 
to predict, that in less than half a century there will be 
scarcely a shade of difference in the fashions, habits, 
and modes of thinking which prevail in the valley of the 
Connecticut, and those of the people of the free states in 
the valleys of the Ohio and the Mississippi. 

Early in January, 1824, I took up my residence at 
Washington. Here the great question agitated was, who 
should succeed Mr. Monroe, whose second presidential 
term would expire on the third of March, 1825. There 
were at this time five candidates for the succession. These 
were, William H. Crawford, Secretary of the Treasury ; 
John Quincy Adams, Secretary of State ; Henry Clay, 
Speaker of the House of Representatives; John C. Cal- 
houn, Secretary of War ; and General Andrew Jackson. 

I have in a preceding chapter* presented my views of 
the characters of Crawford, Clay, and Calhoun ; and it is 
quite unnecessary to repeat what was said on that occa- 
sion. General Jackson is now so well known, that I 
should not be pardoned were I to occupy the time of the 
reader in describing him. That he was one of those 
extraordinary men to whom personal fear is utterly 
unknown ; that he possessed unsurpassed energy of 
character and indomitable resolution ; that he was ar- 
dent in his passions, equally ready to defend a friend 
and fight an enemy, is universally admitted. It requires 



* See chapter III. 



150 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, 1825. 

but a slight, knowledge of popular feelings and preju- 
dices to perceive that the traits of character which I 
have ascribed to General Jackson, and which, in truth, he 
possessed to a degree more eminent than any other man 
of his age, were calculated to render him a candidate with 
the PEOPLE of the United States truly formidable to his 
rivals. There was a brilliancy, a chivalry in his charac- 
ter, which dazzled the young, and which excited enthusi- 
asm even in the old. The boys in the streets could not 
refrain from shouting when his name was mentioned. 
The last time I saw my little Edward, then about ten 
years old, I asked him in a playful manner which he 
would have for president, Mr. Adams or General Jack- 
son '' His reply was, " I suppose Mr. x\dams is the best 
man for the nation," (an opinion he had often heard me 
express,) " but I had rather have General Jackson." 
This honest declaration of the child was, in my judgment, 
the real history of the action of the mass of the American 
mind, in relation to this distinguished man. Could such 
a current of feeling among a free people be checked? and 
ought not sagacious politicians to have perceived that it 
could not ? 

But the great statesmen and politicians, and the mem- 
bers of Congress who were friends to the other candi- 
dates, entertained no jealousy of the General. They 
could not believe that a man w4io, since he had arrived at 
mature age, had spent the greater part of his life in the 
western wilds ; who was a stranger to that species of ma- 
noeuvring and management believed to be indispensable 
in a canvass for a president of the United States ; who, 
comparatively speaking, was illiterate, and who was 
known to be in the liabit of deciding and acting from 
the impulse oi \\v: inotiient, and sometimes from an im- 



JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 151 

pulse created by a passion founded on personal friendship 
or resentment, could be chosen by the enlightened people 
of the United States the successor of a Washnigton, a 
John Adams, a Jefferson, or a Madison ; and they there- 
fore rather encouraged his party than opposed it, the friends 
of each of the other candidates hoping to be able ultimate- 
ly to convert some part of the General's capital to their 

own use. 

John Quincy Adams was, and is, one of the most ex- 
traordinary men of the age. He came into public life be- 
fore his father became president of the United States, 
having been appomted by General Washington to repre- 
sent the American government at some of the minor courts 
in Europe. He has been one of the most laborious stu- 
dents that overlived, and has probably read more than any 
other man in America. His manners, if not awkward, 
are stiff and embarrassed ; and although he was educated 
in Paris, at a time when his father was the American min- 
ister at 'the French and other European courts, and has 
ever since been on terms of intimacy with the most ac- 
complished courtiers in the world ; if you were to meet 
him m company without being informed who he was, 
you would form an opinion that he had been bred a gen- 
'tleman, but had for a long time been a recluse ; and this 
opinion you would arrive at from the apparent embarrass- 
ment in his deportment and manner. This peculiarity in 
his exterior has undoubtedly been occasioned by his con- 
stant and severe appUcation to study. 

Of Mr. Adams, as a member and leader of a political 
party, and as a statesman, I will not attempt to speak. 
His public character is well known to the world. I may, 
however, be permitted so far to express my individual 
opinion as to quote, as applicable to him, a remark said to 



152 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, 1825. 

have been made by John Jay, formerly Governor of the 
State of New York, and Chief-Justice of the United 
States, as expressive of his opinion of John Adams, the 
elder. " Mr. Adams," said Mr. Jay, " was a man of 
strong and ungovernable passions, occasionally imprudent 
in action, sometimes great, and always honest." 

Ever since the presidency of Mr. Jefferson, the Re- 
publican candidate for president had been designated by 
a congressional caucus, and that practice had become a 
part of what may be called the com.mon law of party ; but 
a caucus for nominating a president was now opposed. 
The reasons alleged against a caucus were, that the mem- 
bers of Congress were chosen for legislators ; that their 
business was to make laws, not presidents ; that after a 
long association at the seat of government, there was dan- 
ger of bargains for the benefit of individuals, and of un- 
principled and corrupt combinations, if they were per- 
mitted to designate the candidate for president. These 
reasons, however sound and conclusive, were the ostensi- 
ble and not the real reasons which induced opposition to 
a caucus. 

Mr. Crawford had among the members of both houses 
many more friends than either of the other candidates ; 
indeed, I believe he had nearly a majority of the whole. 
His friends claimed for him that he was, and ought to be 
considered, the only genuine Republican candidate ; and 
if all the Republican members had consented to decide 
the question in a caucus, there can be little doubt that 
Mr. Crawford would eventually have been nominated. 
This state of things induced the friends of all the other 
candidates to oppose a caucus ; and finally, they pro- 
cured the signatures of a majority of the Republican mem- 
bers, and it was a bare majority, to a written declaration 



MARTIN VAN BUREN. 153 

announcing their disapprobation of a caucus. This measure 
efTectually prevented any concentrated action by the menn- 
bers of Congress on the presidential question. An attempt 
was, it is true, made to get up a caucus, but it was at- 
tended only by the friends of Mr. Crawford. These gen- 
tlemen, when assembled, ascertained that their numbers did 
not amount to a majority of the Republican members. 
They nevertheless proceeded to pass resolutions, and to 
nominate Mr. Crawford ; but being a minority of the party, 
their recommendations had no effect, or rather, in my 
judgment, this proceeding was injurious to Mr. Craw- 
ford ; because, before this meeting, it was believed, at a 
distance from the seat of government, that a majority of 
the Republican members were Crawford men, and the 
result of this meeting demonstrated that he was in the 
minority. The contest was now transferred from Wash- 
ington to the people of every neighborhood in the United 
States. 

The summer of 1824 I spent in the city and in the 
state of New York. That great state was terribly 
convulsed by the excited action of political partisans. 
There, as well as at Washington, each of the five can- 
didates had his supporters among the people ; and there, 
as at Washington, a plurality of the democratic party were, 
as I believe, for Mr. Crawford. 

It is not my purpose to attempt to exhibit even a 
glimpse of the intricate politics of the stale of New York, 
or the various factions into which that state was divided. 

Martin Van Buren, afterwards President of the Uni- 
ted States, and then a senator from the state of New York, 
was the leader of the Crawford party in that state, and in 
fact in the United Slates. Oliver Cromwell, whom I con- 
sider, lake him all in all, was the greatest man that ever 



154 MARTIN VAN BUREN. 

England produced, was not more the manufacturer of his 
own fortune than Martin Van Buren — perhaps not so 
much ; for Cromwell started in his political career with 
the powerful aid of John Hampden. Mr. Van Buren, hav- 
ing commenced life with the lower order of society, from 
whence he gradually advanced to the highest, was ac- 
quainted with man in every rank in which fortune in this 
community can place him ; and his keen, intellectual vision 
enabled him to look deeply into the human heart, what- 
ever position in society the actor might occupy. I knew 
Mr. Van Buren well. He certainly was exceedingly 
amiable in social life. As a political manager he was 
shrewd, sagacious, and cautious. He was quick to avail 
himself of the errors of his adversaries, and generous 
towards a conquered enemy ; but cold, calculating, and 
selfish, he steadily pursued all means which tended to his 
own advancement, and this without much regard to the 
personal interests of his friends. His talents, unques- 
tionably, were of the highest order. He had, beyond a 
doubt, at this time fixed his eye on the presidency ; and 
he well knew that the united support of the democratic 
party in the nation was the only means by which he could 
arrive at that exalted station. A large majority of the 
people of the slaveholding states claimed to be democrats. 
Mr. Van Buren also well knew that on the presidential 
question the southern states had always acted in unison, 
and he believed they would continue so to act. Mr. Cal- 
houn, having declined to canvass, and declared himself to 
be in favor of General Jackson, Mr. Crawford had be- 
come the southern candidate ; and I think it fair to pre- 
sume, that the prospect of attaching the south to him on 
a future canvass, strengthened the zeal of Mr. Van Buren 
in behalf of Mr. Crawford ; and undoubtedly his zeal was 



PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, 1825. 155 

the more ardent, because he must have been very certain 
that whatever the result of the approaching election might 
be, the northern democracy would ultimately follow in the 
train of the southern politicians. 

I was at Albany during the extra session of the legisla- 
ture in August, 1824— called, as alleged, for the purpose 
of enacting a law requiring that the presidential electors 
should be chosen by the people. The session lasted but 
a few days ; but a higher degree of excitement I never 
saw in a legislative body. Gen. James Talmadge, who 
had distinguished himself so pre-eminently on the Missouri 
question, was a member of the assembly, and a leader of 
the opposition to the Crawford party. I had the pleasure 
of hearing him deliver one of his most eloquent speeches. 
The lobby and the galleries, in spite of the efforts of the 
presiding officer of the house, greeted him with the most 
rapturous and clamorous applause. 

I was at Washington in December. No choice of 
president was made by the electoral colleges. Jackson 
had a large plurality of votes ; Adams was next to him ; 
Crawford had forty-one, and Clay thirty-seven votes. I 
hardly need mention that, by the United States constitu- 
tion, the election in this case was required to be made from 
the three candidates who had received the greatest num- 
ber of votes, by the members of the House of Repre- 
sentatives, voting by states— the majority of the members 
representing each state casting the vote of such state. Mr. 
Clay, therefore, was, by the constitution, excluded from 
entering the arena. 

An interesting and exciting scene of electioneering was 
now opened. A large majority of the states were against 
Mr. Crawford. Independent of the political objections 
which existed against him, he had lately been the subject 



156 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, 1825. 

of a paralytic shock, which had greatly injured his health, 
and which, it was feared, had impaired his mental fac- 
ulties. His friends, therefore, despaired of electing him. 
The object of Van Buren and the Crawford party seemed 
to be, to prevent either Adams or Jackson from getting a 
majority of the slates, and then to come in and make one 
or other of ihem President — and, of course, whichever of 
them should thus be elected, would know to whom he 
owed his success. This scheme was defeated by the ad- 
dress and influence of Mr. Clay, who took a very active 
part in favor of Mr. Adams. The five New England stales, 
the stales of New Jersey and New York, as between Ad- 
ams and Jackson, were for the former, and Mr. Clay car- 
ried with him a sufficient number of the western states to 
elect Mr. Adams. 

Mr. Clay and Mr. Adams had, for several years and 
down to the canvass in December, been supposed to be 
personally hostile to each other, and each had publicly de- 
nounced the other in the newspapers. All men, therefore, 
viewed with astonishment the course of Mr. Clay on this 
occasion. I need not trouble the reader with the reasons 
which, at this time, are quite apparent, why, Mr. Crawford 
being out of the question, Mr. Clay, in accordance with 
his previously declared political principles and future pros- 
pects, felt it his duty to support Mr. Adams. Bui the po- 
sition of the two gentlemen having before been notoriously 
adverse, an outcry was raised and promulgated in every 
part of the United States, that a corrupt " bar-gai7i" had been 
made between Mr. Adams and Mr. Clay, and that the 
latter had sold himself " for a consideration" to the former. 
When, after the election, Mr. Adams appointed Mr. Clay 
Secretary of State, that appointment was declared, by the 
opponents of Mr. Adams, to have been made in considera- 



HENRY CLAY AND J. Q. ADAMS. 157 

tion of the support given by Mr. Clay to Mr. Adams, and 
in pursuance of the bargain. 

I am inchned to believe that this charge against Mr. 
Clay and Mr. Adams, of a corrupt bargain, will not be 
sustained by impartial history ; but, on the contrary, that 
it will be set down as originating in an inference from the 
relations which had shortly before existed between the 
two gentlemen, made by overheated, and, perhaps, dis- 
honest partisans. 

Mr. Clay had been a senator of the United States — he 
had also long been Speaker and a leader of the democratic 
party in the House of Representatives, and had success- 
fully executed an important foreign mission. He was 
confessedly possessed of distinguished talents, and a great 
political tactician. While, therefore, these good and justi- 
fiable reasons existedfor making the appointment, is it not 
uncharitable, is it not unjust, to assign for its causes cor- 
rupt motives ? 

My impressions, in respect to this transaction, are 
strengtliened by a recollection of the following facts : 

Soon after Mr. Adams was elected, he addressed a note 
to Mr. Clay, offering him the State Department. He 
hesitated, and doubted whether he ought to accept the place, 
and finally called together the members of Congress, who 
were friendly to him, and other intelligent friends, and 
submitted the question to them, declaring that he would 
be governed by their advice. My friend Thornton, who 
was a Clay-man, happened at that time to be in Wash- 
ington, and was present at that caucus. He told me that 
Mr. Clay, on thai occasion, stated to his friends his objec- 
tions to the acceptance of the office of Secretary of Slate. 

" He stated," said Thornton, " that, in his judgment, he 
could exercise more political influence in the nation, as 



158 



CLAY AND ADAMS. 



Speaker of the House, than as head of the Stale Depart- 
ment ; and that his acceptance would, by his enemies, be 
represented as proof, and as the consummation of the al- 
leged bargain with Mr. Adams. 

" Col. M'Arthur, afterwards governor of Ohio, con- 
curred with Mr. Clay, and thought his acceptance of the 
proffered office would be inexpedient ; but nearly, if not 
quite all the others, and there were in that caucus distin- 
guished men from every state in the Union, urged that 
those who were knavish enough to circulate the report of 
the bargain, or silly enough to believe it, would insist that 
the offer of the State Department was proof of the previous 
corrupt agreement, and that a refusal to accept woiald be 
represented as a cowardly attempt to evade the conse- 
quence of the bargain, and an admission of guilt ; — that 
Mr. Adams, by reason of his retired habits, had little per- 
sonal knowledge of the merits, characters, and influence 
of the active politicians in the various parts of the Union ; 
whereas, Mr. Clay's knowledge on that subject was mi- 
nute and universal ; that his tact, address, and skill, and 
his knowledge of men, rendered it indispensable that he 
should compose a part of the administration ; and finally, 
that his friends anxiously desired, and their interest 
eminently required, that he should be a leading member 
in it. 

" I do assure you," continued Thornton, " that Mr. Clay 
yielded to the importunity of liis friends, apparently against 
his own judgment, and with great reluctance." 

It is my duty to add, that individuals are now living 
who were present at that caucus. 

Many persons believed, or affected to believe, that Mr. 
Adams was a profound intriguer, that he was a deep 
plotter, &LC., which in truth was the very reverse of his 



WASHINGTON THEATRE. 159 

character. He did not, in fact, yield enough to considera- 
tions of expediency to be a successful leader of any politi- 
cal party in the United States. But because, owing to a 
combination of fortuitous circumstances, and the address 
and influence of Mr. Clay, he obtained the election, su- 
perficial politicians considered him, and even Mr. Van 
Buren, for a time, affected to consider him one of ihe 
most accomplished pupils of Machiavel. In confirmation 
of this I must be allowed to relate the following anecdote. 
The evening before the President was to be elected by 
the House of Representatives, and when it was morally 
certain that Mr. Adams would be the successful candidate, 
it so happened that General Jackson, Mr. Adams, Mr. 
Crawford, Mr. Clay, and many other distinguished stales- 
men, attended the theatre. The play acted was Macbeth. 
The part of Lady Macbeth was performed by Mrs. Barnes, 

and she played it admirably. She pronounced with 

great emphasis the following words, addressed by Lady 
Macbeth to her husband, when urging him to murder the 
good king Duncan — 

" What thou wouldst highly, thou wouldst holily, 
Thou wouldst play fair, and yet wouldst falsely win." 

At the close of this sentence the applause of the audi- 
ence, as well those in the boxes as in the pit, was loud 
and long-continued. I was present at this exhibition, and 
was well satisfied that the principal cause of the clapping 
and cheering was an impression of some, and a desire to 
produce the impression by others, that these words were 
peculiarly applicable to Mr. Adams. Some persons, and 
Thornton among others, suspected that this particular 
play had been selected by the managers at the suggestion, 
secretly made, by the opponents of Mr. Adams. 



160 THE OLD FEBERAL'ISTS. 

The predilections of Mr. J. Q. Adams were supposed 
to be, and probably were, as it is natural they should have 
been, in favor of the old federal party, of which his father 
was a distinguished member and nominal leader. I say 
?io?nwaJ, because Alexander Hamilton was the real leader 
of the Federalists. From reading the history of the fed- 
eral party, and from a personal acquaintance with elderly 
gentlemen who were distinguished members of it, and 
especially from my recollection of Colonel Boyd, whom I 
consider as one of the " Last of the Romans," I am 
strongly impressed with the belief that the leaders of that 
party were patriotic men, governed by high and honorable 
motives. In one particular, however, in my judgment, 
they erred, and that error was fatal to their success as a 
party — they felt too little respect and reverence for the 
mass of the people. This want of respect begat in them 
a sentiment bordering on contempt for the opinion of the 
masses. I am free to say that I think such course in this 
country was, and is, not only impolitic, but radically 
wronor. 

O 

Would it be right for an office-holder under the Auto- 
crat of Russia to endeavor to bring into contempt his 
opinions and decrees, and render odious liis person and 
authority ? If a subject should entertain feelings giving 
rise to such sentiments in respect to his sovereign, ought 
he not, as an honest man, to abjure his allegiance — or at 
any rate, should he not decline all official employment un- 
der a monarch in whose judgment he could not confide, 
and whose sagacity and understanding he despised ? 
Would a courtier, who was seeking promotion from the 
Sultan of Turkey, deem it proper to indulge in open and 
public declarations derogatory to the talents, intelligence, 
and character of his royal master, whom he well knew 



THE OLD FEDERALISTS. 161 

was the fountain of all honor, and the sovereign dispenser 
of all political favors ? Now, in America, the people are 
the sovereigns ; they, and they only, exercise all the sove- 
reign authority recognised in the nation ; and from them 
all honors and official emoluments, directly or indirectly, 
proceed. Is it then wise, or indeed is it right, for the 
citizen who solicits their confidence, to abuse and traduce 
them ? Ought the creature to claim to be purer and 
greater than the creator ? According to the theorj'^ of the 
British constitution, the king is supposed to be the foun- 
tain of justice and honor, and therefore the maxim, that 
" the king can do no wrong," although admitted to be fic- 
titious, and actually untrue, is, nevertheless, highly con- 
servative in its tendency. So, in the United States, it 
should be held, at least in theory, that the majority of the 
])eople at the polls of the election can do no wrong. When 
the people speak through the ballot-boxes, the maxim 
" Vox populi vox Dei" should be held strictly applicable. 
By this, I do not mean to say, that the citizen who dif- 
fers in opinion from the majority should be restrained 
from publicly expressing that opinion. Far from it. It 
is one of the most inestimable rights, and the highest and 
most sacred duty of the citizen, when he thinks the ma- 
jority of the people have misjudged, to endeavor to con- 
vince that majority, or a portion of it, that they have 
decided wrong ; but this should be done, not by charging 
that the majority have acted corruptly, or that they are 
incapable of judiciously deciding the matter submitted to 
them ; on the contrary, his arguments should be founded 
on the assumption that ihey are capable of deciding wisely, 
and that they have intended to act for the best interest 
of the country, but that they have been misadvised and 
misled by false information. As the errors of the king 

11 



162 MR. Randolph's motion. 

of England are supposed not to be his, but those of his 
nwnisters ^ so the errors committed by a majority of the 
people at the elections, should be considered as having 
been committed by individuals who have misinformed 
and misled them. 

For more than two thousand years the stern virtues of 
Coriolanus have been a theme for the applause of the 
historian ; but with all due deference, I must be permit- 
ted to say, that 1 cannot perceive with what propriety 
he could challenge the support of the Roman people 
while he was in the daily practice of abusing and tra- 
ducing that very people. I do not say that he deserved 
to have been thrown from the Tarpeian rock ; but I do 
say, that the people were right in repudiating the man 
who sought every occasion to denounce them to the 
Roman senate, and to the world, as unworthy to be 
trusted, and as debased and contemptible. 



CHAPTER XL 



John Randolph's motion to suppress the Slave-trade in the District of Co- 
lumbia — Case of Gilbert Horton — Meeting in Westchester County — 
Character of the Hon. William Jay — Proceedings in Congress in conse- 
quence of the Imprisonment of Gilbert Horton. 

I THINK it was during the short session of 1817, that 
John Randolph introduced a resolution in the House of 
Representatives, requiring the committee on the District 
of Columbia to inquire into the expediency of suppressing 
by law the slave-trade in that district. Mr. Randolph, 
during the whole of his long congressional career, was a 



ARREST OF FREE CITIZENS. 163 

zealous advocate for the slaveholding states, and for slave- 
holding. It was not until the near approach of death 
that he, either from a regard to his posthumous fame, 
or impelled by a sense of his duty to God and man, 
or from both these causes, came to the conclusion to 
liberate his own slaves, of whom he held many, and he 
did, by his last will and testament, emancipate them. On 
offering the resolution to which I have alluded, Mr. Ran- 
dolph, with unsurpassed eloquence, depicted the horrors 
of that dreadful traffic in human beings, carried on at the 
seat of government, and under the immediate eye of the 
representatives of a people claiming to be distinguished 
from the people of all other nations for their love of free- 
dom. I had the satisfaction of hearing that speech, and 
never were my feelings more highly excited than on that 
occasion. Although I have not seen Mr. Randolph's 
speech in print, I have no doubt the report of it may be 
found by examining the files of the National Intelligencer. 
I ought, however, to add, that no reporter could do justice 
to that potent but eccentric orator. 

The city of Washington, nevertheless, continues to be 
a common place of meeting of the negro speculators of 
the adjoining states, for the purpose of buying and selling 
slaves. But there is another practice which prevails 
there, and which is, if possible, a greater outrage upon 
humanity, and is, besides, a most palpable violation of 
constitutional law. When a colored man, either on ac- 
count of business or for pleasure, visits the capital of his 
country, unless he has in his possession evidence that he 
is a free man, he is liable to be arrested and thrown into jail, 
where, after he remains for a certain period of time, he is 
sold as a slave by the sheriff, for the fees of arresting and 
keeping him in prison. By this law, every man, whose 



164 CASE OF GILBERT IIORTON. 

skm is not white, is presumed to be guilty of being a 
slave. If it turns out that he is a slave, he is delivered to 
his master ; and if he is a free nnan, he is sold as a slave 
to defray the expense of this confessedly unjust attack by 
the public upon his personal liberty. I doubt whether a 
law which sanctions so flagrant an outrage on human 
rights can be found in the code of any other civilized na- 
tion on earth. It reminds one of the ordeal by which 
witches were tried in ages long since past ; if the accused 
floated on the water, she was to be hanged for witch- 
craft — if she sunk and drowned, she was adjudged to be 
innocent. The free states, to their eternal disgrace, have 
submitted to this treatment of- their citizens generally 
without resistance, and with philosophical resignation. It 
however gives me pleasure to refer to one case, which 
occurred in the year 1826, when the arrest of a free col- 
ored man, in the city of Washington, was noticed by the 
executive and citizens of one of the states of the Union in 
a proper spirit, and in consequence of such interference, 
the intended victim was restored to his liberty. I shall 
state this case with some particularity, and in connection 
with it I will give a brief sketch of the action of Congress 
on the rights of free blacks and the emancipation of slaves 
in the federal city, over which the national legislature, 
by the American constitution, holds exclusive jurisdic- 
tion. 

A free colored citizen, of the county of Westchester, 
in the state of New York, named Gilbert Horton, was 
employed as a sailor on board a coasting-vessel, which 
touched at a port in the District of Columbia. Horton 
went on shore, and while peaceably walking in one of the 
streets of the ciiy of Washington, was seized and thrown 
into jail as a fugitive slave. After he had been in jail a 



CASE OF GILBERT HORTON. 165 

month, the following notice appeared in the National In- 
telligencer, under the date of August 1, 1826 : 

" Was committed to the jail of Washington County, 
District of Columbia, on the 2d of July last, as a run- 
away, a NEGRO MAN, by the name of Gilbert Horton. 
He is five feet four inches high, stout made ; has large full 
eyes, and a scar on his left arm near the elbow. Had on 
when committed, a tarpaulin hat, linen shirt, blue cloth 
jacket and trousers ; says that he was bor?i free, in the 
state of New York, near Peekskill. The owner or oivn- 
ers of the above described negro, if any, are requested to 
come and prove him and take him away, or he will be 
SOLD for his jail fees and other expenses, as the law 

directs. 

" Richard Burr, for 

" Tench Ringold, Marshal." 

This advertisement happened to meet the eye of the 
Hon. William Jay, of Westchester county, a son of the 
celebrated Governor John Jay. Judge Jay is a man of 
wealth, of eminent literary attainments, imbued from his 
cradle with a sacred regard for human rights, of most ar- 
dent benevolence, and endowed with talents of the highest 
order, as is demonstrated by his writings, with which the 
public are now familiar. Disgusted with the low arts of 
demagogues, and the narrow selfishness and the insinceri- 
ty and trickery of politicians — though always personally 
popular, and though to his own individual merits were 
added the fame and reputation conferred on him by his 
venerable father — he has refused to take any active part in 
the party contests in the nation, or his own state. I 
know him well, and I religiously believe that no mere 
personal considerations — noihiag but an imperious sense 



1G6 CASE OF GILBERT HORTON. 

of public duty, would draw him from his retirement, or 
induce him to accept of the highest office within the gift 
of the people of his state or the nation. But he never 
fails to obey the calls of humanity, and in defence of hu- 
man rights he is always active and energetic, ypon 
seeing this notice, Judge Jay took immediate measures to 
procure a meeting of the citizens of Westchester county. 
Tliis meeting, of which Mr. Jay was secretary, after re- 
citing the story of Horton, and that he was about to be 
sold as a slave to pay the jailer's fees, " as the law di- 
rected," among other things, 

" Resolved, That the secretary is hereby desired to 
transmit to his excellency the governor, the evidence above 
referred to, and in the name of this meeting to request 
his excellency to demand from the proper authorities the 
instant liberation of said Horton, as a free citizen of the 
state of New York. 

" Resolved, That by the fourth article of the constitu- 
tion of the United States, the citizens of each state are 
entitled to all the privileges and immunities of citizens of 
the several states, and that it is the duty of the state of 
New York to protect its citizens in the enjoyment of 
this constitutional right, without regard to their com- 
plexions. 

" Resolved, That the law under which Horton has 
been imprisoned, and by which a free citizen without 
evidence of crime, and without trial by jury, may be con- 
demned to servitude for life, is repugnant to our re- 
publican inslilutions, and revolting to justice and humani- 
ty; and that the representatives from this state in Congress 
are hereby requested to use their endeavors to procure its 
repeal." 

These resolutions were forwarded to Governor Clinton, 



I 



I 



CASE OF GILBERT HORTON. 167 

who addressed the following letter to Mr. Adams, then 
president of the United States. 

Albany, ith Sept., 1826. 
" To the President of the United States. 

" Sir :— 

" I have the honor to enclose copies of the proceedings 
of a respectable meeting in Westchester county, in this 
state,* and an affidavit of John Owen, from which it ap- 
pears that one Gilbert Horton, a free man of color, and 
a citizen of this state, is unlawfully imprisoned in the 
jail of the city of Washington, and is advertised to be 
sold by the marshal of the District of Columbia. 

" From whatever authority a law authorizing such pro- 
ceedings has emanated, whether from the nmnicipalily of 
Washington, the legislature of Maryland, or the, Congress 
of the United Stales, it is at least void and unconstitu- 
tional in its application to a citizen, and could never 
have been intended to extend further than to fugitive 
slaves. 

" As the District of Columbia is under the exclusive 
control of the national government, I conceive it my duty 
to apply to you for the liberation of Gilbert Horton as a 
free man and a citizen, and I feel persuaded that this re- 
quest will be followed by immediate relief. 
" I have the honor, &c., 

"DE WITT CLINTON." 

In reply to the above, the governor was informed from 
the State Department, that before this letter was received, 
the marshal, having become satisfied that Horton was a 
free man, had liberated him. The truth probably was, 



168 CASE OF GILBERT HORTON. 

that the marshal had notice of the proceedings in the 
state of New York, and knowing, what was generally 
well known, that De Witt Clinton was not a man 
to be trifled with, and that he would at any hazard main- 
tain and defend the rights of his own stale, and every 
citizen of it, with firmness, and with a perseverance 
which could not be evaded or eluded, preferred the im- 
mediate liberation of Horton, by what might seem to be 
a voluntary act, to a compulsory discharge in pursuance 
of a requisition from the governor of a free state. 

Judge Jay did not stop here. He drew a petition, 
which was signed generally by the people of Westchester 
county, in which was exhibited, in bold relief, the ab- 
surdity, injustice, and unconstitutionality of the law under 
which Horton had been imprisoned, and its immediate 
repeal was demanded. The same petition earnestly 
urged Congress to abolish slavery in the District of 
Columbia. 

, To show how the grave matters which this petition 
brought to the view of Congress were shuffled off, evi- 
dently by the consent or connivance of the members from 
the free states, I will conclude this chapter by subjoining 
some brief notes, furnished me by a friend, of the action 
of the House of Representatives in relation to the sub- 
jects embraced in the petition. The accuracy and cor- 
rectness of these notes will appear by a reference to the 
journals of Congress. 

House of Representatives, > 
December 26, 1826. \ 

Aaron Ward,- member from Westchester, in a speech 
brought the case of Horton before the House, and intro- 
duced the following resolution, viz : — 



CASE OF GILBERT HORTON. 169 

'^Resolved, That the committee on the District of 
Columbia be directed to inquire whether there be in 
force in said District, any law which authorizes the im- 
prisonment of any free man of color, being a citizen of 
any of the United States, and his sale as an unclaimed 
slave for jail fees and other charges ; and if so, to inquire 
into the expediency of repealing the same." 

Resolution was discussed, and a motion to lay on the 
table rejected. 

December 27. 

Discussion on Ward's resolution continued. Motion to 
lay on the table again rejected. Ayes 64, Noes 90. Mr. 
Ward, by request, struck from his resolution the words, 
"being a citizen of any of the states." The resolution, 
thus modified, passed by a large majority. 

January 11, 1827. 

The committee reported in full, stating the law, and 
the apprehension and imprisonment of Horton under it, 
and recommended that the charges of imprisonment be in 
future paid by the corporation of Washington county, in- 
stead of being, as now directed by law, to be defrayed 
from the sale of the suspected, but unclaimed fugitive. 

Soon after this report, the corporation of Georgetown 
presented a remonstrance against the passage of the bill 
introduced by the committee, changing the mode of 
defraying the charges of imprisoning suspected fugi- 
tives. 

Mr. Varnum* introduced another bill, making the cost 
of imprisoning suspected fugitives a charge on the United 
States treasury ! 

* A slave of the south from Massachusetts. — Editor. 



170 CASE OF GILBERT HORTON. 

No bill on the subject was passed. 

March 24, 1828. 

A petition signed by one thousand inhabitants of the 
District, praying for the abolition of slavery in it, was 
presented by Mr. Miner to the House of Representa- 
tives. 

January 9, 1829. 

The House of Representatives resolved, by a vote of 
120 to 59, " that the committee for the District of Colum- 
bia be instructed to lake into consideration the laws 
within the District in respect to slavery ; that tliey in- 
quire into the slave-trade as it exists in, and is carried on 
through the District, and that they report to the House 
such amendments to the existing laws as shall seem to 
them to be just. 

" Resolved, That the committee be further instructed 
to inquire into the expediency of providing by law for 
the gradual abolition of slavery within the District, in 
such manner that the interests of no individual shall be 

injured thereby." 

January 29. 

The committee presented a thorough pro-slavery re- 
port. Denied abuses in the slave-trade, and protested 
against the abolition of slavery in the District, but recom- 
mended a law prohibiting the importation of slaves into 
the District. 

No action in consequence of the report. 

January, 1829. 

Both houses of the Pennsylvania Legislature desired 
their representatives in Congress to endeavor to pro- 
cure the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia. 



CASE OF GILBERT HORTON. 171 

January, 1829. 
The Assembly of New York passed a similar res- 
olution. 

1837. 

Legislature of Vermont passed resolutions in favor of 
the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia. 

Legislature of Massachusetts passed a similar resolu- 
tion. In the Senate unanimously, in the lower House, 

378 to 16. 

May 26, 1836. 

The House of Representatives, " Resolved, That Con- 
gress ought not to interfere in any way with slavery in 
the District of Columbia." 

Thus ended the farce. 



172 DESTUCTION OF ANIMALS, 



CHAPTER XII. 

Letter from Thornton on the duty of man towards other animals. 

I MAY as well in this place as in any other, insert a 
letter which I received from Thornton since my arrival 
in England. The letter, it will be perceived, treats of a 
subject entirely disconnected from that contained in the 
preceding chapter. Thornton is constitutionally one of 
the most benevolent men I ever knew. He ardently 
desires to see not only all men, but all animated nature 
happy, and his sensitive mind is deeply pained when- 
ever and wherever he sees one animal voluntarily inflict 
misery on another. I have heard him say, that since he 
was twelve years old he has never, except in self-defence, 
caused the death of any living creature. The life of the 
most insignificant insect, which I have often heard him 
say at death " in corporeal sufferance feels a pang as 
great as when a giant dies," has uniformly been held 
sacred by him. Perhaps his extreme sympathy may 
have induced him to denounce, with too much severity, 
indulgence in what are called field-sports. At any rate, 
his views are in advance of the age. The time may 
come when his reasoning will be more justly appreciated, 
and more generally approved. 

"New York, May 31, 1839. 

" Dear Melbourn : — 

" 1 happened a day or two ago to be thinking of our 
j( ride from Washington with the redoubtable Captain Puff, 



DESTRUCTION OF ANIMALS. 173 

and of my conversation with the excellent Benjamin 
Lundy, on the subject of the duty of man towards other 
beings possessed of animal life, when a train of reflec- 
tion occurred to me, which for want of something more 
interesting I now forward to you. 

I. 

" Man has no right to deprive another animal of life, 
unless in his own defence ; or unless the deprivation of 
another animal of life becomes necessary for the susten- 
ance of his own life, 

PROOF. 

" 1. There is a Supreme Being who produced and gov- 
erns the universe, and to whom all other beings are ac- 
countable. 

" 2. The God of the universe is a being of perfect be- 
nevolence. 

" 3. A benevolent being must of necessity desire to 
cause and preserve the greatest possible quantum of 
pleasure or happiness in the universe. 

" 4. Therefore, God must necessarily desire man to 
pursue that course which is best calculated to produce in 
the universe the greatest possible quantum of happiness. 

" 5. It follows that the man who, so far as his actions 
depend on his own volition, pursues the course last indi- 
cated, conducts in a manner most pleasing to God. It is 
therefore the duty of man to pursue such course ; but it 
would be right, and it would be man's duty to himself, to 
pursue that same course if there were no God. 

" 6. An individual human being has no right to attempt 
to procure his own happiness by preventing other beings 



174 DESTRUCTION OF ANIMALS. 

from enjoying happiness, because such conduct would be 
in violation of the moral law of God ; but if there were 
no God, and no moral law, it would still be unwise for 
man to seek his own happiness at the expense of the hap- 
piness of other beings ; because man is by nature a be- 
nevolent being, and any malevolent act — though, at the 
moment, the doing of it may seem to afford pleasure — will 
eventually cause pain. A single recollection of the les- 
sons taught by experience, (the safest and best teacher,) 
will convince any one that the pain thus incurred greatly 
overbalances the pleasure. Besides, the attempt to de- 
prive another of the enjoyment of happiness, will gener- 
ally produce resistance and retaliation ; and the evils and 
the pain which will result to the person making the at- 
tempt, will overbalance the gratification afforded by in- 
dulging his morbid propensity. 

" 7. In general, the enjoyment or happiness of a living 
creature is in the aggregate greater than the misery or 
pain he endures. It is better to be a living crea- 
ture than a stone ; for, though the living creature occa- 
sionally suffers pain, the pleasure he enjoys overbalances 
the pain : the balance, therefore, is in favor of existence. 
Hence, the multiplication of living creatures in the uni- 
verse must increase the quantum of happiness in ihe uni- 
verse ; and the destruction and diminution of lives must 
diminish that quantum. 

" From all these propositions, I infer the truth of the 
general proposition — 

*' ' That man has no right to deprive another animal of 
life, unless in his own defence ; or unless the deprivation 
of another animal of life becomes necessary for the sus- 
tenance of his owalife.' 

^* Does the admission of the truth of this proposition 



DESTRUCTION OF ANIMALS. 175 

lead to a prohibition of the use of the flesh of animals by 
man as a common article of food ? 

" I think not. 

" 1. The consumption of the flesh of other animals may 
be necessary for the preservation of the human species. 
A principal article of the food of man, both savage and 
civihzed, in all ages, and in every part of the globe, has 
been and is the flesh of other animals. Who shall say — 
\A\o can say, but that a portion of this sort of food is 
absolutely necessary for the preservation of the existence 
of the race of mankind ? 

" But, v^^aiving this, there is another aspect in which the 
question may be viewed. 

" 2. The appetite of man to consume the flesh of other 
animals induces him by his own labor to provide for the 
sustenance and support of millions of animals which, so 
far as we can perceive, could not otherwise exist ; and 
although he permits himself, after some of those animals 
have lived for a certain period, to deprive them of life, 
with a view of using their flesh for food, this practice 
tends to increase, and actually does increase, the number 
of living animals. Thus the destruction of life increases 
the quantum of life : a position which, though apparently 
self-contradicted, is nevertheless unquestionably true. 

" The following corollary results from these positions : 
— that man may rightfully deprive other animals of life 
under the following circumstances and in the following 
cases : 

" 1. When man, by his labor and industry, has caused 
the existence and preserved the life of an animal whose 
flesh is agreeable and useful for food, he may rightfully, 
when his comfort or convenience requires it, deprive that 
animal of life. 



176 DESTRUCTION OF ANIMALS. 

" 2. Man when perishing with hunger has a right, if 
necessary to preserve his own Hfe, to kill and eat the flesh 
of another animal (the deer for instance) whose existence 
he has never caused, and to wliose support he has never 
contributed. This right, it will be perceived, rests on the 
ground of the right of self-defence, or rather self-preser- 
vation. 

" 3. Man has a right to kill and destroy all other ani- 
mals who make war upon him, or upon his property, or, 
more philosophically speaking, the avails of his own in- 
dustry. 

" 4. In ALL OTHER CASES, the destruction of animal life 
by man is morally wrong ; it is a crime against nature and 
against God. 

II. 

" Man incurs to those domestic animals which render 
him service, or which supply him with the conveniences, 
comforts, and I may add necessaries of life, a high and 
sacredly binding moral obligation. 

" One kind of obligation recognised by metaphysicians 
and moralists is, to make suitable returns for favors con- 
ferred. Now, has not the sheep, whose fleece protects 
me from the inclemency of the elements — the cow, whose 
milk nourishes my children and myself — the ox, which 
with patient and persevering labor breaks up my ground, 
and prepares it for the production of bread-stuffs — and 
the horse, which relieves me from fatigue, and safely and 
securely and pleasantly transports me from one place to 
another — conferred on me favors ? 

" And am I not under a high moral obligation to do 
something for these animals in return ? True, I furnish 
them with food, and sometimes with a shelter ; but these 



I 



DESTRUCTION OF ANIMALS. 177 

conveniences the wild horse and the buffalo, as well as 
other animals of the sheep, cow, and horse kind, obtained 
before they were enslaved by man, without human aid. 
I give the horse food, not to pay him a debt, but to enable 
him to perform more labor for me. I therefore assume 
that the horse, which has faithfully served me, say for a 
dozen years, has a claim on me to support him comfortably 
in his decline of life, and after he shall have been rendered, 
by age and ill-health, incapable of earning any thing for 
me — a claim which, although he cannot enforce, in a court 
of law, he ought to enforce, and can enforce, in a court of 
honor and conscience. 

" That it is the duty of man to treat all other animals 
kindly, and not inflict pain upon them unnecessarily, is so 
obvious, that the reader who can see enough to perceive 
any of the boundaries between right and wrong, would 
feel insulted were I to occupy one moment of his lime 
in offering reasons in support of the existence of such 
duty. 

" I then assume, as proved — 

" 1. That man palpably violates his duty when he per- 
mits himself to treat other animals unkindly, or inflicts on 
them unnecessary pain. 

" 2. That he becomes indebted to those domestic animals 
which render him service, or which yield to, and furnish 
him with, the luxuries, comforts, and necessaries of hu- 
man life ; and that he is under a high moral obligation to 
discharge such indebtedness by taking care of those ani- 
mals in their old age, and by procuring ease and comfort 
for them, when suffering from the effects of disease or 
wounds. 

" 3. That it is a flagrant violation of right, and a sin 
against God, for man to deprive any animal of life, unless 

12 



178 DESTRUCTION OF ANIMALS. 

it be those animals whose existence he may be said to 
have caused, and whose hves he has preserved by his own 
labor and industry, or unless their flesh becomes abso- 
lutely necessary for the preservation of his own life, or 
unless in defence of his own property or life. 

" If these positions are true-^if such be obviously and 
incontestably the bounden duty of man — how shamelessly, 
how outrageously is that duty violated, not only by the 
careless and reckless, but by the thoughtful, careful, and 
prudent; not only by the griping- and miserly, but the be- 
nevolent and charitable ; not only by the ignorant and vul- 
gar, but by the learned and enlightened philosopher ; not 
only by the impious and profane, but by the devout and 
pious ! Why, one can scarcely walk into the streets, or 
range through the fields, without being compelled to wit- 
ness the infliction of some unnecessary and wanton cruelty 
upon unoffending and uncomplaining animals by the tyrant 
man. If you go into the wild forest, which has been 
created without the aid of man — which has been enriched 
with vegetable life, and clothed with verdure, without his 
aid, and even without his knowledge — you will there find 
the savage man, merely for his. amusement, prowling 
around, destroying and murdering inoffensive animals 
which subsist there without his aid, which never in any 
respect annoyed or disturbed him, and wliich have been 
placed there by the benevolent Creator of the universe. 

" There are many species of brute animals which prey 
on each other, but the wars of these animals are waged 
not for amusement, but for self-defence, or self-preserva- 
iiun. Man alone, reasoning man, pious, religious man, 
(iod-like man, makes war on the animal creation, tortures 
and murders them for his own amusement and pleasure ! 
The timid, the unoffending deer, which never did him the 



DESTRUCTION OF ANIMALS. 179 

least possible harm, for whose support he never in any 
manner contributed, he waylays and pursues with ferocious 
hounds and deadly weapons to the death, and then boasts 
of the tortures he has inflicted, and of his triuinph. 

" Man is the most savage animal that walks on the earth. 
Could all the other animals which inhabit the globe meet 
in convention and form an alliance, offensive and defensive, 
for the utter destruction and extirpation of the human 
species, it would, so far as respects the conduct of man 
towards other animals, be a ' holy alliance.^ 

" The reckless indifference with which most men aban- 
don to starvation and death old animals of the horse kind, 
which have served them long and faithfully, is disgraceful 
to human nature itself. ' Poor old horse, let him die, let 
him die,' is the only elegy that is pronounced on the noble 
animal. 

" I am now sixty years old, and have seen something 
of life, and I declare, in the sincerity of my heart, that I 
have seen nothing which has given me so much pain as 
the wanton destruction of the life of brute animals by man, 
and the tyranny and cruelty exercised by him over do- 
mestic animals. I cannot choose to die without saying 
one word in behalf of those uncomplaining, mute and 
suffering beings, who cannot plead for themselves. But 
what avails the feeble voice of one individual against the 
shout of thousands of millions of my fellow men ! 

" I would fain hope, however, that in some future age 
of the world the duly of man towards other terrestrial 
beings will be better understood and more faithfully re- 
garded. Then will come the true millennium of the phi- 
losopher and the philosophical Christian. 

" Yours truly, . 

"T. Thornton." 



180 



ABOLITIONISTS. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Illiberality of the Abolitionists — Annexation of Texas — Opposition of south- 
ern Politicians to the acquisition of northern Territory — Mr. Madison — 
Strictures on the mode of carrying on the War for the conquest of Can- 
ada in 1812 — Constitutional Principles of southern Politicians. 

LETTER FROM THORNTON. 



« New York, April 4, 1845. 

*' My DEAR Melbourn : — 

" I have not heard from you for the last three months ; 
what has become of you ? Have you lost yourself among 
the battlements and monumental ruins of the old castle 
of the king-maker; or have you, at the age of fifty-five, 
become young and gay, and are you mingling with the 
fashionables in the modern Babylon, who change day into 
night, and night into day ? But I will not allow either the 
reveries occasioned by the view of the monuments of an- 
cient times, or your literary pursuits, or even the fascina- 
tions of gay society, to cause you to forget your old friend. 

" I cannot advise you of any thing which will be new 
to you. You are in the habit of daily reading the New 
York and Washington newspapers, and they tell you of 
every thing which transpires, besides many things which 
never did happen. 

" With respect to the subject in which I know you feel 
the deepest interest, the success of the Abolition party in 



ABOLITION PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE. 181 

this country, and the prospect of the freedom of the slave, 
I am sorry to say that I can give you no information which 
will afford you any consolation. 

" The illiberality and prescriptive policy of the Liberty 
party, which you and I have often lamented, so far from 
being ameliorated, is rather increased. 1 cannot say that 
I condemn them for withholding their votes at the last 
November election from Mr. Clay. Considering his 
course on the Missouri question, and his more recent 
avowal in the Senate of the United States, that slaves are 
by law property, and that whatever the law makes property 
is property, in connection with his second and third letter 
on the annexation of Texas, I cannot perceive how honest 
abolitionists could give him their votes — and with still less 
propriety could they vote for Mr. Polk ; nevertheless, I 
think the selection of Mr. Birney, as a presidential candi- 
date, was injudicious. Whatever may be his personal 
merits, he was quite unknown in the nation as a states- 
man. The abolitionists, I think, would have acted more 
wisely if they had declined voting for a president at the 
last election; or if, in their judgment, duty or policy re- 
quired of them that they should have a candidate of their 
own. Governor Slade of Vermont, or Judge Jay or Gerrit 
Smith, of New York, would have commanded a much 
stronger vole than Mr. Birney. What is the most unpar- 
donable in the Liberty party, because it is suicidal, is 
their denunciation of such men as John Quincy Adams, 
Giddings of Ohio, Slade of Vermont, &c. ; these gentle- 
men are as good abolitionists as were Clarkson and Wilber- 
force. There are liberal-minded men among the aboli- 
tionists of New York and Ohio, but as a party they seem 
to be under the government, in some degree, of fanatical 
clergymen, and a few ambitious political aspirants, who 



182 ANNEXATION OF TEXAS. 

vainly hope to procure advancement by the course they 
take. One would sonaetimes be led to imagine that their 
policy was to adopt measures with the intent of preventing 
men of influence and talents from joining them. They 
rigidly enforce the rule of the old Mosaic law, which 
declares if you are guilty of a breach of one tittle of the 
law you are guihy of a breach of the whole law, and must 
be punished accordingly. This is not according to the 
doctrines of Jesus Christ. When some of his disciples 
informed him that they saw one casting out devils in his 
name, and they forbid him, because he refused to follow 
them, Christ rebuked them for it, saying, ' he that is 
not for us is against us ;' whence it follows that he that 
is acting with us cannot be against us, and ought not to 
be so regarded. These immaculate Liberty party men 
will not allow Giddings and Slade to cast out devils, 
though they hold the same doctrines as respects human 
rights as the most rigid abolitionist. The Liberty party 
are anxious, sincerely anxious, that the slave should be 
liberated, but they will allow none but themselves to break 
his chain and open his prison door. 

" You already know all about that abominable outrage 
upon the constitution of this country, upon the repubhc 
of Mexico, and upon the rights of man, which has been 
consummated by the annexation of Texas. You know 
that the Texas insurrection in 1837 was excited, con- 
ducted, and finally effected by citizens of the United 
States, under the connivance, if not secret aid, of this 
government ; you know that the real cause of that insur- 
rection was, that Mexico refused to tolerate human sla- 
very ; you also know that after the war with Mexico 
had continued for some time, Mexico, under the advise- 
ment of Great Britain and France, finally consented to 



ANNEXATION OF TEXAS. 183 

acknowledge the independence of Texas, provided she 
would abolish slavery ; that Texas was about to accede to 
this proposition; that for the express purpose of prevent- 
ing THE abolition OF SLAVERY IN Texas, US ttvowed by 
the organs of the American government ( Upshur and Cal- 
houn, Secretaries of State*) in the face of a civilized and 
Christian world, and for the purpose of extending the 
area of slavery, and perpetuating it in the slave states 
of the Union, we robbed a sister republic of her territory 
— territory which, by all the solemnities of treaty, we 
had repeatedly acknowledged to be hers. Thus, by our 
own acknowledgment we are of record, robbers. 

" The south, at the last session, before they introduced 
the resolutions for the annexation of Texas, caused a reso- 
lution to be proposed in favor of taking possession of the 
territory of Oregon. This resolution was made the pio- 
neer of that for the annexation of Texas. This manoeu- 
vre was resorted to for the purpose of gulling the masses 
of the north and west. I say the masses, because any 
member of Congress who had brains enough to find his 
way to the Capitol, must have known it was a gross de- 
ception. In due time the Texas resolution shot ahead of 
its pioneer, and the Oregon resolution was left to slumber 
among the rubbish with which the congressional table was 
loaded. 

" Who beUeves that there will ever be a state west of the 
Rocky Mountains which will be one of the United Slates ? 
I am free to say, I do not. Time will show whether I am 
right. 

" In the first place, this, or any other southern adminis- 



* Tlie official diplomatic correspondence of these gentlemen justify this 
assertion. — Editor. 



184 



ACQUISITION OF NORTHERN TERRITORY. 



Iralion, — and there is little probability we shall ever have 
any other, — will give up every foot of land in Oregon, 
notwithstanding the town-meeting-speech of Mr. Polk at 
his inauguration, rather than engage in a war with Great 
Britain. By the way, the slaveholding and cotton-planting 
interest of the south, and the shipping interest of the east, 
will forever hereafter prevent a war with Great Britain, 
unless the conduct of the latter power shall be so outra- 
geous that it will become dangerous to resist the clamor 
of the grain-growing slates. But if Great Britain, in con- 
sequence of liberal concessions of commercial privileges 
by the American government, shall consent to give us a 
part of Oregon,* the south will encourage the formation of 
an independent government there, and they will succeed 
in effecting that project. I have no time to argue the 
question whether this will not be the probable result. I 
leave that for you to do. 

" The south never will consent to the acquisition of one 
foot of territory north of Mason and Dixon's line. And I 
verily believe, that if Great Britain were at this moment 
to offer, with the consent of the inhabitants of the 
Canadas, to annex that territory, it would be resist- 
ed by the south, at the hazard of a division of the 
Union. 

" All reflecting men at this day will, I presume, admit 
that during the last war Mr. Madison did not desire the 
conquest of Canada. One reason, no doubt, which ope- 
rated on his mind, was the diflficulties it might interpose 
in a negotiation for peace. If we should gain possession, 
by conquest, of the territory, he apprehended that the 



* This has actually taken place, as Mr. Thornton, in 1845, conjec- 
tured. — Editor. 



CONQUEST OF CANADA IN 1812. 185 

northern states would not consent to surrender it, and he 
justly feared that Great Britain would never consent to 
yield up any portion of her dominions which had been 
wrested from her by force. If Mr. Madison had not, at 
the commencement of the war, determined against the 
conquest of Canada, how is it possible to reconcile his 
conduct in the instance I am about to state, to the high 
reputation he always, and I believe justly, sustained for 
forecast and sagacity ? 

" The war was declared at Washington, in June, 1812. 
At that time the British, strictly speaking, had no naval 
force on Lake Champlain. Before the news of the war 
could reach London, Rouse's Point might have been for- 
tified, the Isle Le Noi might have been seized, and by an 
expenditure of probably less than $100,000, a naval force 
might have been constructed and put afloat on Lake 
Champlain sufficient to command it ; and possession might 
have been taken of St. Johns and all other landing places 
on the Canada side of the lake. This would have en- 
abled us to transport the whole disposable military force 
of the nation, together with provisions, arms, and muni- 
tions of war, from New York, Boston, &c., by steamboats, 
into the heart of Canada, with only sixty miles land-car- 
riage, on an excellent road, between Troy and Whitehall. 
The control of Lake Cliamplain, and the possession of 
St. Johns, must, with the means then in our power, have 
enabled us to have taken possession of Montreal before 
the British could have sent aid from England.* Upper 
Canada must then, of course, have fallen into our hands, 
witii very liille effort or expense on our part. Instead of 



* The state of Vermont could have furnished a force sufficient to have , 
marched to Montreal and taken that town. — Editor. 



186 



ANNEXATION OF TEXAS. 



this, the government expended millions and millions of 
money, as the records of the war and treasury depart- 
ments will show, in transporting troops and munitions of 
war by land over bad roads and no roads at all (for it will 
be recollected our canals were not then made) to Sackett's 
Harbor, to Buffalo, to Detroit, and other points bordering 
upon the sparsely populated and unsettled parts of Upper 
Canada. Entering it as we did at these extreme points, 
and with small detachments, no rational man could enter- 
tain a hope of making a conquest of the country. 

" The palpable violation of the American Constitution 
by the annexation of Texas, is deeply to be deplored by 
all those who regard and desire to preserve that instru- 
ment. Although you are in a foreign country, you must 
have thought on the subject, and probably more than I 
have ; but the process of reasoning is so simple, and ?o 
obvious, that I lake leave to put it on paper. 

" By the United States constitution the powers not ex- 
pressly granted, are in terms withheld. There is no grant 
of power to the general government to acquire foreign 
territory and make it a part of the United Slates. Texas 
was not only foreign territory, but was actually an inde- 
pendent foreign government, by our own recorded ac- 
knowledgment ; and yet, by a simple resolution, ihis 
foreign government was made a part of the United Stales. 
It is easy to see, that on the same principles France, or the 
Empire of Germany, may by a resolution of Congress be 
annexed to the United States, and as bolli France and 
Germany each have a greater population than we, Louis 
Philippe or the Emperor of Germany might be elected 
President of the United States. And this flagrant viola- 
tion of the constitution was committed, and this outrage 
was perpetrated, by men who so sacredly regard the con- 



ANNEXATION OF TEXAS. 187 

stilution that they cannot vote for a bank charter, notwith- 
standing the constitution imposes on Congress the duly 
of regulating the currency of the nation, and notwith- 
standing the power to grant such charter has been ad- 
judged to be in Congress by three preceding national legis- 
latures, by two or more Presidents, and by the Supreme 
Court of the United States, who by that very constitution 
are made the only expounders of constitutional law. 

"In 1824, Van Buren, Forsyth, Buchanan, and other 
distinguished politicians, who then acted with the south- 
ern party, supported with great ardor, Crawford for presi- 
dent, and Gallatin for vice-president, who were the open, 
avowed, and zealous friends of the United States Bank, 
as a constitutional and necessary institution, and in 1832, 
Mr. Van Buren, Forsyth, &c., declared 'uncompromising 
iiostility' to any National Bank, principally on the ground 
that the creation of moneyed corporations was unconstitu- 
tional. But the constitution in 1832, was the same as 
that of 1824. So, also, the southern politicians in, I be- 
lieve, 1S08, supported and urged the passage of a law, 
laying an embargo on all exportations, to continue an in- 
definite and unlimited time. This act in terms annihi- 
lated foreign commerce. Yet the very men who were 
the authors and advocates of this act, or rather the same 
class of politicians, some of whom are the same men, at 
the present day contend that a law requiring payment of 
a duty of 30 or 40 per cent, on foreign broadcloth is un- 
constitutional, because, although it does not ainiihilate, it 
tends to diminish commerce ; for they say the power 
* to regulate,'' does not authorize Congress for any pur- 
pose to clog or discourage commerce. The political 
conscience of a politician is too frequently an India-rub- 
ber conscience. It will extend or contract as the particular 



188 ANNEXATION OF TEXAS. 

case may require. Forty per cent, duty on cloth is un- 
constitutional, but 50 per cent, duty on a pound of sugar 
is perfectly constitutional. — [See Mr. Calhoun's letter to 
the sugar-planters of Louisiana.] 

" In the case of Texas, what surprises me most, iS, 
that the northern members should dare to vote for its an- 
nexation with the right of slave representation, thereby 
making a new contract, by which the slaveholders in the 
acquired territory are entitled to a property representa- 
tion which is denied to their own constituents. 

" It is literally true, that my representative from New 
York, has by his vote granted to one Texan as much 
political power in two branches of the government, as is 
or can be possessed by two New Yorkers. In excuse 
for this sacrifice — this bartering away of the political 
power of his principals, — he says to us he has done this 
to extend the area of freedom— hy securing and per- 
petuating human slavery in Texas, and in the southern 

states ! 

" The annexation of Texas has effected what, you may 
recollect, I predicted to our friend, Benjamin Lundy, 
which was, that the slaveholding states would ultimately 
obtain a majority in the United States Senate. They 
now have that majority. It will never be changed — no, 

NEVER. 

"Speaking in reference to the political prospects of 
my country, I must say, my dear Melbourn, that ' I am 
sick of this vain world.' 

" Yours, truly, 

"Tobias Thornton. 

"Julius Melbourn, Esq." 



TARIFF BILL OF 1846. 189 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Remarks on the Act entitled " An Act reducing the Duties on Imports," 
which was passed at the first Session of the 29th Congress, in the sum- 
mer of 1846 — in a letter from Mr. Thornton. 

Many readers may consider the discussion contained 
in the following letter, on the vexed question of the 
tariff laws of the United States, as dry and tedious ; but 
as the subject is justly regarded both here and in America, 
as one of great importance, and as Mr. Thornton has 
presented some novel, and in my judgment, interesting 
views, which he thinks ought to have a controlling influence 
on the future legislation of the American republic, I 
hope I shall be excused for inserting them, and that the 
reader will not find the time required for their perusal 
altogether misspent. 



" New York, September 30, 1846. 



" Dear Melbourn : — 



" I propose to submit some remarks on the bill which 
was passed near the close of the last session of Congress, 
repealing the tariff law enacted in 1842. The bill in 
question not only repeals the then existing law, but estab- 
lishes a new tariff of duties. It is founded upon the last 
annual report of the Secretary of the Treasury, and adopts 
the principles contained in that report. The leading prin- 
ciple inculcated by the Secretary is, that duties for the 



190 TARIFF BILL OF 1840. 

PROTECTION of the American producer and manufacturer 
ought to be abolished ; that the doctrine on that subject, 
which, if not ever since the organization of the govern- 
ment and General Hamilton's celebrated report on domes- 
tic manufactures — at least, from the passage of the tariff 
bill of 1816, has been considered as sound — has been 
founded upon error, and ought to be repudiated. Indeed, 
the advocates of the new tariff bill, in both houses of 
Congress, supported it as a revenue bill alone, and 
avowed in their speeches that the principle of protec- 
tion ought to be, and in effect was, by that bill, aban- 
doned. 

"That the tariff of 1816 was framed wiih an express 
view to protection, will, I trust, be admitted by every per- 
son who has a tolerable acquaintance with the history of 
our national legislation ; as, however, the truth of this 
assertion may be doubted by some, I will detain you a 
moment for the purpose of stating, that during the war 
with Great Britain, which terminated in 1815, a consider- 
able number of cotton factories had been established in the 
United States. The Congress of 1816 wished to protect 
those establishments, and also to prevent the drain of spe- 
cie from this country, which the purchase of foreign fab- 
rics for necessary wearing apparel occasioned. With this 
view, that Congress, by the tariff of 1816, levied a spe- 
cific duty on all cotton fabrics brought from beyond the 
Cape of Good Hope, from whence coarse cottons were 
then imported, which effectually destroyed that trade, and 
totally excluded from the American market the cotton 
cloths brought from that region of the globe. This duty 
was not laid for the purpose of raising a revenue, but for 
the purpose of preventing the importation of the foreign 
article, mid thereby di;ninishing instead of increasing the 



TARIFF BILL OF 1846. 191 

revenue. Mr. Calhoun, at that time chairman of the Fi- 
nance Committee, after remarking that articles imported 
from south of the Cape of Good Hope could not be ob- 
tained by barter, and were of course paid for principally 
in specie, an operation which produced a fearful balance 
of trade against this country, said in his place, in my hear- 
ing, that for the purpose of preventing this drain of specie, 
and for the purpose oi protecting American manufactures, 
he was for wholly excluding the importation of those 
coarse cotton fabrics, and therefore should vote in favor 
of the proposed specific duty. Hence, it is most evident 
that that duty was not imposed for the purpose of increas- 
ing the revenue ; but, on the contrary, it was well known 
that the inevitable consequence would be to diminisii it. 
Other dutiesj such as the tax upon imported woollen cloths, 
wool, iron, hemp, sugar, &:c., &c., have been imposed, 
not, indeed, with a view to exclude the foreign article, 
but for the purpose of discouraging its importation, 
and protecting the American grower and manufac- 
turer. 

" By the passage of the tariff act of the last session, all 
branches of the government have abandoned and repudi- 
ated the doctrine that ' protection for the sake of protec- 
tion' ought to be maintained or tolerated by our tariff 
laws. It is said that a large majority of the people of the 
United States are in favor of the doctrine put forth in Mr. 
Walker's report ; and even Mr. Clay, the great champion 
for the protecton of home industry, has said that ' protec- 
tion for the sake of protection' ought no longer to influ- 
ence the enactment of our impost laws. 

"Without discussing the question whether it was wise 
or unwise in the American people and their government 



192 TARIFF BILL OF 1846. 

to abandon the principle of protection, it is sufficient for 
my purpose to assume, what cannot be denied, that the 
principle oi protection is, in fact, abandoned. 

"In justification of tiie mode of taxation adopted by the 
bill in question, it is alleged that a system of impost du- 
ties levied, solely with a view to revenue, incidentally 
protects the American grower and manufacturer. This 
is true to a certain extent ; but it must not be forgotten 
that a tariff for revenue alone, like Mr. Walker's tariff, 
ought always to be so framed as to enable the foreign 
manufacturer fairly to compete with the American ; for if 
the duty is so higii as considerably to diminish importa- 
tion, a proper regard to the interest of the revenue will of 
course demand a reduction of the duty. Thus, if a duty 
of forty per cent, on imported manufactured hats would 
enable the American hatter, beneficially to himself, so far 
to supply the home demand as that no more hats than in 
value will amount to $100,000 can annually be imported 
without loss, the reduction of the duty to twenty per cent, 
might enable the foreign hatter so successfully to com- 
pete in our market with his brother hatter in America, as 
to cause an annual importation of hats to the value of 
$400,000. It will be readily seen that in the one case 
the treasury would receive $40,000, in the other $80,000, 
and that in the supposed case the reduction of ihe one 
half doubles the amount of revenue : upon the same prin- 
ciple which in the supposed case would require the re- 
duction of the duty on hats, was Mr. Walker's tariff bill 
framed — at any rate, to be consistent with his avowed prin- 
ciples, it should have been so framed. But it will be 
perceived, that after the reduction of the duty on hats 
from 40 to 20 per cent., the American hatter would, in 



TARIFF BILL OF 1846. 193 

his business, still have an advantage of 20 per cent, over 
the foreign manufacturer, and this is called mczc/en^aZ pro- 
tection. 

" Now, admitting that thirty millions of dollars must be 
annually raised to defray the necessary expenses of gov- 
ernment, it is conceded that if that tax can be levied equal- 
ly, or indeed in a manner which shall approach near to 
equality, and still afford this incidental protection to our 
own mechanics, manufacturers, and producers, that mode 
of taxation ought to be preferred. 

" I admit that I have heretofore been in favor of pro- 
tection for the sake of protection. While the British ports 
were closed against all the agricultural productions of the 
grain-growing states, whose population constitutes a great 
majority of the white population of the Union, and those 
states produced nothing but a little potash, which the 
English would receive in payment for their manufactured 
articles, it seemed to me that the importation of neces- 
sary wearing apparel, &;c., would eventually produce so 
great a balance of trade against us as would ensure a 
drain of specie, which would cripple our commercial 
operations and prostrate our credit ; and especially, that 
the credit of our banking institutions would be ruined. I 
also believed that if our manufacturing institutions could 
be so far protected as to draw away a considerable por- 
tion of those engaged in agricultural pursuits into our 
factories, those employed in factories would require to be 
supplied with bread-stuffs by the farmer, and that a do- 
mestic market would thus be created which would ade- 
quately reward the labors of those who continued in the 
pursuit of agriculture. But the late repeal of the British 
Corn-Laws has opened to us the principal European mar- 
kets, and a fair competition for the sale of our butter, 

13 



194 TARIFF BILL OF li?46. 

cheese, and all our grains, with all other nations in the 
world. If the last advices from England are correct, In- 
dian corn, with which millions of acres of our fields are 
at this moment richly loaded, can be sold in Liverpool and 
London for one dollar per bushel. This state of things 
changes the aspect of the question, and I own I begin to 
doubt whether the time has not arrived when we can, 
with safety, adopt the maxim of Adam Smith, that a na- 
tion ought to sell where it can sell highest, and buy where 
it can buy cheapest ; and thus follow the advice of Mr. 
Jefferson, that we should have 'our workshops in Europe.' 
I confess I am now inclined to believe that our laborers 
would act wisely if they would devote their time to the cul- 
tivation of the soil, and by its productions pay for the arti- 
cles manufactured by the gheap 'pauper labor' of Europe. 

" If the American laborer for one bushel of Indian corn 
can purchase three days' labor in England in fabricating his 
wearing apparel, is it not wise for him to do so ? But, as 
I have before stated, I do not propose to discuss the ques- 
tion whether protection ought or ought not to be aban- 
doned. That long-disputed point is now settled. Pro- 
tection is abandoned, and, assuming such to be the fact, 
the question now is, whether any impost duties on the ne- 
cessaries of life ought to be levied — and that is the ques- 
tion I propose to discuss. 

" It is alleged by the secretary, that to defray the ordi- 
nary expenses of the government, thirty millions must in 
some way be collected by a tax from the people of the 
United States. 

" While I admit, as I liave above admitted, that if this 
thirty millions of dollars can be fairly and justly levied on 
the people by duties on imported articles, so as inciden- 
tally to protect the American manufacturer, grower, and 



TARIFF BILL OP 1846. 195 

producer, that mode of taxation ought to be preferred ; I 
trust every fair-minded and candid man will admit, if 
I can show that a system of taxation by impost not only 
operates unequally and unjust as between individuals and 
as between different sections of the Union, but that it is 
grossly, cruelly, and outrageously both unequal and un- 
just, that in such case the practice of indirect taxation 
ought to be abohshed, and that of direct adopted. I ad- 
mit that articles of luxury, such, for instance, as spirituous 
liquors, wines, and perhaps some articles of wearing ap- 
parel, ought to be taxed : it will, however, be found, on 
examination, that the sum raised from mere articles of 
luxury is very small, when compared with the amount 
which by our present system is raised by a tax on neces- 
sary wearing apparel, sugar, iron, salt, and other neces- 
saries of life. Before proceeding to state specific objec- 
tions against impost duties, I will remind you of one 
general objection. It is this : In all governments, and 
especially in free governments, the citizen ought to know 
when, and how much he pays for taxes. Mr. Lewis, 
Chairman of the Finance Committee, in his speech, lately 
published, says, and says truly, ' that it is not only the 
people's right, but the very essence of liberty, that they 
(the people) should know the amount of taxes they are 
forced to pay ;' and yet the very bill which Mr. Lewis 
reported, and the passage of which he urged in this speech, 
provides for the collection of thirty millions of dollars 
during the next fiscal year, and at the end of that year I 
will venture, without the fear of contradiction, to say, that 
neither Mr. Lewis, nor any other man in the United 
Stales, will be able to tell how much he has paid in taxes 
for the support of the government. Does the farmer 
know, when he buys iron for his ploughshare, or the me- 



196 TARIFF BILL UF ISiCu 

chanic who buys a yard of broadcloth, or the professional 
man who buys a pound of sugar to sweeten his coffee, or 
the working girl who lays out the avails of three months' 
labor in a muslin dress, how much they respectively pay 
in taxes to the government when they make those pur- 
chases ? According to Mr. Lewis, his bill to the contrary 
notwithstanding, this objection is conclusive. 

" But waiving this objection, I affirm that indirect taxa- 
tion is grossly unjust, because thereby the citizens of 
the United States are compelled to pay an immense amount 
of money which never reaches the national treasury, 

" You will not fail to recollect, that all the branches of 
the government, and Mr. Clay at the head of the opposi- 
tion, agree that protection for protection's sake is aban- 
doned ; and I now submit another proposition, the truth 
of which will not be denied, which is, that the consumer 
of the goods imported pays the whole of the thirty mil- 
lions proposed to be raised by the impost duties : this, I 
hope, you will constantly bear in mind, for my reasoning 
on the question is based entirely on it. We must not 
forget that the man who buys a pound of brown sugar for 
nine cents, pays a tax of two cents and seven mills ; nor 
that he who buys a yard of broadcloth of the retailing 
merchant pays one dollar, or more or less, to the govern- 
ment. But a small proportion, however, of that dollar 
passes into the treasury of the United States. We all 
know that the duty, in the first instance, is paid by the 
importer. He adds the amount paid for duty to the in- 
voice price, and then charges profits on the whole sum ad- 
vanced by him. He sells to the jobber, of course, at a 
certain profit. The jobber, who sells to the country mer- 
chant, charges him with the amount thus paid to the im- 
porter, to which he adds his profits ; and the retailing 



TARIFF BILL OF 1846. 197 

merchant sells to the consumer, to whom he charges the 
amount paid by him to the jobber, together with his own 
profits. Thus it is obvious, that the consumer pays not 
only the tax, but the profits of the importer, jobber, and 
retailer on the outlay made by the importer in the pay- 
ment of the tax, upon the landing of the goods. To make 
this matter more plain, I will suppose an importer lands in 
New York goods, the invoice price of which, at Manchester, 
is 81,000 ; on these goods I will suppose he pays a duty to 
the government of 25 per ct. ; when, therefore, the importer 
unpacks his bale of goods in New York, he has paid for it, 
including the duty, $1,250. He sells this bale to the 
jobber at a profit, say of 10 per cent. The jobber, tliere- 
fore, pays for the bale $1,365. He again sells to the re- 
tailer at a profit of 15 per cent, on the sum advanced by 
him. The retailer, therefore, pays for the bale $1,581 ; 
and he sells to the consumer at an advance on the amount 
paid by him of 25 per cent. : so that the consumer pays 
for this same bale of goods, $1,976. Thus, for the sum 
of $250, paid by the importer into the U. S. Treasury, 
the consumer actually pays $395 31. I am not a mer- 
chant, and therefore possess no actual knowledge of the 
usual profits realized in trade. I may have stated the 
gains of the merchant too high, and I may have stated 
them too low. But whether I have stated the profits ten 
or fifteen per cent, too high or too low. can make no dif- 
ference in relation to the principle for which I contend. 
Allowing, then, the supposed profixts of the merchant to be 
as stated, it requires but a slight knowledge of arithmetic 
to enable you to satisfy yourself, that in paying a tax of 
$30,000,000, the tax payers, that is, the consumers, ac- 
tually pay $47,437,200 ; or in other words, they pay 
$17,437,200 which never reaches the treasury. 



198 TARIFF BILL OF 1846. 

" Will any man of common sense say that this is a ju- 
dicious and fair mode of taxation ? I am sure he will not. 
But this is only a part of the case. The duty on the im- 
ported article enables the American manufacturer to sell 
the same article, manufactured or produced by him, at a 
price as much higher as the amount of duty raises the im- 
ported article above the price it could be sold at were it 
admitted free of duty. 

" I was told a few days ago by a gentleman who for 
several years has resided at Key West, in the neighborhood 
of Cuba, that sugar could be manufactured on the island 
of Cuba at 2| cents per pound — that is to say, at $2,50 
per hundred pounds. If it were admitted duty free, I 
presume it could be imported into the United States, and 
a fair profit made by the importer, jobber, and retailer, 
and be sold here for four cents per pound. Instead of 
which, under Mr. Walker's bill of reduced duties we 
shall, I presume, be required to pay six cents per pound ; 
that is to say, we pay four cents a pound for the sugar, 
and two cents for every pound to the sugar-grower in 
Louisiana. This principle applies to the producers of iron 
and hemp — to the salt manufacturer, and more especially 
to the manufacturer of woollen and cotton cloths. 

" I am wholly ignorant of the amount of goods pro- 
duced and manufactured in this country, on which we 
charge a duty when imported from abroad, but I do not 
think it unreasonable to suppose that at least one half of 
the articles consumed are of American growth or manu- 
facture. 

" I will suppose, for illustration, that the dutiable goods 
imported the year ensuing, will amount to one hundred 
millions of dollars. Mr. Lewis, in the speech to which I 
have alluded, calculates that the average of the duties di- 



TARIFF OF 1846. 199 

reeled by the bill under consideration, to be levied, is 23|- 
per cent., and that the amount which will be received into 
the treasury the ensuing year, will be $23,886,657. Of 
course he must estimate that the articles imported charge- 
able with duty, will a little exceed $100,000,000. It will, 
I think, be a liberal allowance to concede that all over 
$20,000,000 received under this bill, will be collected 
from articles of luxury imported, which it is conceded 
ought to be taxed, and to which my objection does not 
apply. This, however, leaves the enormous sum of 
$20,000,000 to be paid by consumers to the manufac- 
turers. To this sum add the $17,437,200 paid by con- 
sumers on imported goods, to the retailing merchant, for 
the profits charged by him, together with the jobber and 
importer, and you are presented with the fearful amount 
of $37,437,200, paid by the people under the name of 
taxes, not one cent of which goes into the treasury of the 
United States ! Conceding, then, as we must, that pro- 
tection as such ought to be abandoned, and I ask whether 
any civilized or uncivilized nation under the canopy of 
heaven ever submitted to such a system of taxation ? 

" You will perceive that my argument is founded on 
the assumption that the price paid by the consumer, on 
any given article, is increased in proportion to the amount 
of duty paid on such article. The manufacturers, how- 
ever, have asserted, and for aught I know continue to 
assert, that this is not true, and that a high duty paid on 
the imported article, instead of raising the price, actually 
reduces it ; because, say they, the American manufac- 
turer will furnish the article so that it can be sold in mar- 
ket for a less sum than the same article, if imported from 
abroad, could be sold for, if admitted free of duly. Acci- 
dental circumstances may have occasionally produced a 



200 TARIFF OF 1846. 

depression in the prices of domestic goods, not long after 
a high duly had been laid on imported goods of the same 
kind ; but the assertion that the laying of a high duty on 
the importation of any given article, as for instance, a duty 
of forty per cent, on imported hats, will not raise the price 
of hats in this country, is too absurd to require refutation. 
If a high duty on the foreign article lessens the value of 
goods of the same kind fabricated by the American man- 
ufacturer, I would fain know of him why he clamors for 
high duties ? If his allegation be true, the duties which 
he calls for will lessen the value of his own goods on hand. 
In England the laborer works for 25 cents per day ; in 
America he receives 75 cents. In New York, money or 
capital is worth seven per cent, per annum ; in England 
it is generally worth no more than four and never more 
than five per cent, per annum. These two simple but 
undeniable facts tell the whole story. 

" I have endeavored to prove that a revenue raised 
by impost was impolitic and unjust, because, by that mode 
of taxation, (the tax-payer being the consumer,) in the 
collection of a tax of thirty millions of dollars, the people 
of the United States were compelled to pay more than 
thirty-seven millions of dollars which never reached the 
national treasury ; and I now propose to show that this 
mode of taxation is grossly unequal and unjust, as between 
individual tax-payers. 

" It will, I presume, be conceded, that in equity and 
good conscience every citizen ought to contribute or pay 
towards defraying the expenses of the government under 
which he lives, according to his pecuniary ability, and in 
proportion to the value of his property which is protected 
by ihe government. This principle is admitted to be 
equitable, and is adopted by the laws of every state in the 



TARIFF OF 1846. 201 

Union. If the value of real and personal estate in the 
county of Washington be five millions of dollars, and the 
money required to be raised by tax in the county be 
$25,000, this would be one half per cent, on the assessed 
value of each citizen's real and personal estate. There- 
fore A, whose property is worth $10,000, will be required 
to pay, as his portion of the $25,000, $50, while B, whose 
property is assessed at $1000, pays but $5. It may be 
said that B's personal liberty is as dear to him as the per- 
sonal liberty of A is to A, and therefore B ought to pay 
something in the nature of a poll-tax for the protection of 
the rights of his person. But it has been held in this, and 
most if not all the other states in the Union, tliat the time 
devoted by B to the performance of military duty, which 
he is ten times less able to spend than A, should be con- 
sidered an equivalent for a poll-tax. That this is fair and 
equitable, seems now to be conceded by every riglit- 
minded man. 

" Assuming, then, that every citizen ought to pay towards 
the expenses of the government, in proportion to the value 
of his property which is protected by government, I pro- 
ceed to inquire whether impost duties ought to be sus- 
tained as the sole means of defraying the expenses of the 
general government ; and here I must again entreat you 
to recollect, that by the tariff of 1846 the doctrine of j)>'0- 
tectionfor the sake of protection is repudiated and abol- 
ished, and also, that a tax by impost is every dollar of it 
paid by the consumer. 

" To show that the impost system is unequal and un- 
just, as between individuals, it is only necessary to reflect 
that the poor man, wuth a large family of children, con- 
sumes nearly as much of the articles which are taxed as 
his rich neicrhbor with the same number of children; and 



202 



TARIFF OF 1846. 



in the proportion which lie consumes, in that proportion 
he pays taxes : the greater part of revenue raised by im- 
post being collected from a tax on the necessaries of life, 
such for instance as imported medicines, salt, iron, cotton 
and woollen cloths, &c., &c. To illustrate my views on 
this subject more clearly, I will suppose that in order to 
raise thirty millions of dollars, which the Secretary of the 
United States Treasury thinks will be necessary to defray 
the annual current expenses of the national government, 
a tax of one mill on a dollar is required to be paid on the 
assessed value of the property of each citizen of the state 
of New York. By this tax $100,000 value of property 
would pay $100. -Now, I will suppose Mr. R. to be 
worth .$98,000. Again, I will suppose Mr. C, an indus- 
trious, respectable farmer, to be worth $2000 only. It is 
obvious that of the $100 required to be paid on the 
$100,000, Mr. R. ought to pay to the national treasury, 
and under a system of direct taxation would be required 
to pay, $98, and Mr. C. $2, and in this way the $100 tax 
w^ould be satisfied. But how much do those gentlemen 
actually pay according to the impost system? 

" I will suppose that Mr. R.'s family consists of six 
persons, and Mr. C.'s family consists of twelve persons. 
I am aware that Mr. R., being a man of wealth, consumes 
more in his family in proportion to its numbers than 
Mr. C. does in his ; but it will be, I conceive, a liberal 
allowance to assume that Mr. C.'s family of twelve per- 
sons consumes no more than Mr. R.'s of six. Upon this 
supposition, however, Mr. C. will be compelled to pay 
850 of the $100 tax; in other words, he pays $48 in 
taxes which Mr. R. ought to pay ; and this $48, Mr. C. 
pays for incidental protection to the manufacturer, and 
the owner of iron mines in Peru ! Repudiate the doc- 



TARIFF OF 1846. 203 

trine of ' protection for the sake of protection,' and I ask, 
Is this right ? Is it just ? 

" The case I have supposed is a common, a very ordi- 
nary one ; were I to refer to an extreme case, I would 
suppose that the whole assessed property, real and per- 
sonal, in the county of Washington, is about five and a 
half millions of dollars. John Jacob Astor is said to be 
worth more than five millions of dollars. At his time of 
life, the number of his famil)^, including his domestics, 
probably does not exceed ten. Now, I will venture to 
assert, that there are many families in the county of Wash- 
ington who are not worth a sinn[le cent over and above 
wdiat would be necessary to pay their debts, and who are 
supported by the daily labor of the adults in such fami- 
lies, and yet each of those families consumes at least one- 
half as much of the necessaries of life, on which impost 
duties are laid, as Mr. Astor ; and therefore, two of these 
poor families pay as much, or nearly as much, towards 
defraying the expenses of the general government as John 
Jacob Astor. 

" I will not follow out this reasoning any further. 
Enough has been said to convince any man, susceptible 
of conviction, that the system of indirect taxation, as re- 
spects individuals, is grossly unequal and unjust, and that 
as respects the poor, it is cruel and oppressive. 

" I will now proceed to show that the impost system is 
unequal and unjust, as respects different sections of the 
United States. 

" With this view I affirm, that in the free and grain- 
growing states there is a much larger consumption of du- 
tiable articles, in proportion to the number of persons, 
than in the planting and slaveholding states. At the north 
and west the free laborer's wearing apparel, and a con- 



204 TARIFF OF lc4G. 

siderable part of his food and his medicine are taxed. In 
the southern slates, nearly the whole of the manual labor 
is performed by slaves ; and but a very small portion of 
what is consumed by the slave, either for food or apparel, 
is subject to duty. Salt, to season the food of the slave, 
is used with great economy ; and I am told that on many 
plantations no salt at all is allowed. A little molasses, to 
render the hominy of the slave more palatable and nutri- 
tious, is sometimes used, but according to report, this 
luxury is rarely allowed. These are almost, if not quite, 
the only articles of food for the field-slave which are 
taxed. 

" In the sunny and warm climate of the states south of 
the Potomac river, little clothing is required for slaves ; 
and on that little but a very small duty is paid, when com- 
pared with the duty paid on the clothes worn by the free 
laborer of the north. The clothes worn by the negro are 
of the coarsest and cheapest kind. The negro cloths for 
the winter season, except those which are spun and woven 
in the families to which the slave belongs, are fabricated 
at the east, from Smyrna wool, which consists of mere 
tag-locks, and which, to favor the slave-owner, under the 
act of 1842, and for some time before, was allowed to be 
imported on paying the nominal duty of five per cent, ad 
valore?n. This was consented to by the members from 
llie grain-growing states, in the hope, which has proved 
vain, that this arrangement, being so favorable to t!ie 
slaveholder, would mollify the opposition of the south 
to a protective tariif. I speak without book, and entirely 
from conjecture, but will venture the assertion, that the 
2,487,113 slaves at the south do not consume one-hun- 
dredth part as much in value of dutiable articles as the 
same number of laboring free people at the north. 



TARIFF OF 18-iG. 205 

"The state of Massachusetts, in 1840, had a popula- 
tion of 737,639, and at the same period South Carohna 
possessed a population of 594,398, in which was included 
327,038 slaves. I am not aware that the treasury of the 
United Slates has ever made any effort to ascertain the 
quantity of goods, &c., consumed in the several states, and 
we are therefore compelled to resort entirely to conjec- 
ture. If, however, the amount in value of dutiable articles 
consumed in Massachusetts and South Carolina could be 
accurately ascertained, I presume it would turn out that 
the people of Massachusetts consume three times as 
much in value as the people (including the slaves) of 
South Carolina. If this hypothesis is correct, a citizen 
of Massachusetts, under the present system, pays in taxes, 
on the necessaries of life, three dollars, when the citizen 
of South Carolina is required to pay but little more than 
one. 

" Owing to a want of statistical knowledge, my reason- 
ing on this branch of my subject is necessarily, in a great 
degree, founded, as I have before stated, on conjecture ; 
but I trust no intelligent man will deny the truth of the 
general proposition, that the grain-growing states, in pro- 
portion to the number of their inhabitants, consume vastly 
more of articles which are taxed, than the inhabitants of 
the planting states, reckoning the slaves as a portion of 
the inhabitants of the states last mentioned ; and if such 
be the fact, it is most obvious that in the same proportion 
the former pay a higher tax than the latter. Is this right ? 
Can this mode of taxation be pronounced equal as respects 
the different sections of the country? And is not this a 
case to which the celebrated maxim of Chancellor Wal- 
worth, ' that equality is equity,' is peculiarly applicable ? 

" If the systems of direct and indirect taxation were 



206 TARIFF OF 1846. 

equally just as respects individuals, and as respects the 
different sections of the country, there is still another rea- 
son, independent of the principle laid down by Mr. Lewis, 
why direct taxation should be preferred to indirect. This 
reason I shall now proceed to state, with the same free- 
dom that I have exercised in discussing every other branch 
of this important and interesting inquiry, notwithstanding 
the extreme sensibility which has been manifested ' here 
and elsewhere' in relation to the subject which I propose to 
present for your consideration. 

" In the compromising convention which formed the 
United States constitution, the slaveholding states were 
allowed a property representation in the House of Repre- 
sentatives and in the electoral colleges, while, by the same 
constitution, a representation on account of property was 
denied to the non-slaveholding states. I say, a property 
representation, because slaves, by the laws of every state 
where slavery is tolerated, are declared property. Those 
states, therefore, are estopped from denying that slaves 
are property, whatever questions may be raised on that 
subject by the moralists and politicians in other states and 
countries. 

*' That this provision in the constitution, permitting a 
representation in proportion to the number of slaves, gives 
to the slave states an unequal share of political power as 
respects the free stales, everybody knows, lender that 
provision in the constitution, at this moment, South Caro- 
lina, at a ratio of 70,680 inhabitants for one representative 
in the United States House of Representatives, with a 
free population of only 267,361, sends to that body seven 
members : whereas, with a free population of 2,428,921, 
New York is represented by thirty-four members only. 
Hence it is evident, that while 71,438 free persons in New 



TARIFF OF 18-16. 207 

York are entitled to but one member, in South Carolina 
38,194 of the same description of persons have the right 
to be represented in our national legislature by a member. 
To exhibit this disparity more clearly, it is sufficient to 
state the fact, that Vermont, with a free population of 
291,948, has but four members, while South Carolina, 
with a free population, as before slated, of 267,361, has 
seven representatives. Need I add what is most palpable, 
that because South Carolina has 327,038 slaves, one free- 
man in that state possesses nearly as much political power 
as two freemen in the state of New York ! 

" Under this clause in the constitution the southern 
states, even by the present high ratio of representation, 
have, in the House of Representatives and in the electoral 
colleges, twenty representatives more than their population 
would entitle them to, were it not that they own 2,487,1 13 
slaves. And here I cannot refrain from reminding you 
that the power thus granted to them has not remained 
dormant in their hands. Some of the most important 
measures (whether for weal or wo is not now the subject 
of inquiry) as respects the interests, rights, and power of 
the nation, in all time to come, have been carried against 
the wishes of a large majority of the representatives from 
the free states by a united southern vote ; and that vote 
has been made to preponderate by means of the slave 
representation. Such was the admission of Missouri into 
the Union, with the right of slaveholding and slave repre- 
sentation ; and such was the admission of Texas, which 
brought with it the Mexican war. Even the tariff law of 
1846, which is one of the most important laws ever 
passed by Congress — for it not only fixes a tariff" of duties 
and repeals the taritf of 1842, but it declares and estab- 
lishes the vitally important principle, that protection for 



208 TARIFF OF 1846. 

the sake of protection ought to be abandoned — was passed 
by means of the slave representation. 

" Wiiy did the grain-growing states concede lo the plant- 
ing stales a property representation, and withhold from 
themselves the same right ? Why this grant of superior 
political power to the south ? Every schoolboy can an- 
swer these questions, because the answer is contained in 
the constitution itself. That constitution declares that 
' representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned 
among the several states which may be included in this 
Union, according to their respective numbers.' It then pro- 
vides that five slaves shall, in making the enumeration, be 
considered equal to three freemen. The slave states con- 
sented to pay taxes in proportion to their representation, 
in consideration of which the free states agreed that they 
should be entitled to a representation for their slaves. 
Thus, suppose the sum of eleven hundred thousand dollars 
was to be raised from two states, say South Carolina and 
Vermont. The former being entitled to seven members 
and the latter to four. South Carolina would be required by 
direct taxation to pay $700,000, and Vermont $400,000. 
Now, it will not be denied that at the time of the adoption 
of the federal constitution, it was universally believed that 
the government would be mainly supported by direct taxa- 
tion. Hence, I say that the consideration which induced 
the free states lo yield to the south a property representa- 
tion was, that it should pay taxes in proportion to its repre- 
sentation. At that early day the patriots, fresh from the 
field of the revolutionary struggle, intended to carry out 
the great principle for which they had so recently con- 
tended at the risk of their lives and fortunes, (and, indeed, 
a violation of this principle by the British parliament, 
caused the American Revolution,) that is to say, thattaxa- 



TARIFF OF 1846. 209 

lion and representation should go hand in hand, and bear 
an equal proportion to each other. 

" It can hardly be necessary for me to put you in mind 
that by a system of indirect taxation, which compels the 
consumer to pay the ivhole expenses of government, the 
planting states wholly fail to pay the consideration for the 
grant of that high prerogative — a property representation. 

" I ask, then, in all frankness and candor, whether from 
this view of the case an additional reason is not furnished 
for abolishing the indirect and adopting the direct system 
of taxation ? 

" I now most respectfully submit to your judgment, 
whether the practice of defraying the expenses of govern- 
ment by impost duties alone ought longer to be tolerated 
as a revenue system, and whether the incidental protection 
it affords to the grower, producer, and manufacturer, is 
not purchased (being purchased as it is .by the laboring 
poor) at too dear a rate ? 

" But the manufacturers and producers tell us that the 
incidental protection afibrded by Mr. Walker's tariff, is 
entirely insufficient to sustain them; that without more 
efficient aid from government, their woollen, and, it may 
be, their cotton mills must stand still, and their iron ore 
remain buried in the earth. If this declaration be true, it 
makes the tariff law of 1846 what Mr. Walker intended it 
should be — a law enacted for the sole and only purpose 
of raising a revenue. Viewing it, then, as exclusively a 
revenue bill, I do not hesitate to pronounce it to be what 
I think I have proved it to be, partial, unequal, unjust, and 
oppressive, and cruel to the laboring poor of the middle, 
western, and northern stales. 

" It may naturally be asked why, if the impost system 
he attended with the evils, and be as partial and unjust as 

14 



210 TARIFF OF 1846. 

I have represented, it has been so long quietly submitted 
to ? Why has not an outcry been long ago raised against 
it ? In replying to these questions, I would in my turn ask, 
how did it happen that the monopoly of banking was so 
long acquiesced in without a murmur or word of com- 
plaint ? Why was the feudal system submitted to, and 
the divine right of kings admitted by the people of all the 
European nations for more than twelve hundred years 
since the Christian era ? 

" Time and long experience are necessary in order to 
convince the masses of moral, social, and political truths, 
especially when a few influential individuals are interested 
to delude them. Rich and influential men, though they 
themselves may be convinced that their poor neighbors 
pay more in taxes than their proportion, will be tardy in 
their endeavors to convince those poor neighbors that such 
is the fact. How soon will Mr. R., in the case 1 have 
supposed, make an effort, in good faith, to prove to Mr. C. 
that he pays forty-eight dollars, annually, towards defray- 
ing the expenses of government, which in equity and good 
conscience Mr. R. himself ought to pay ? Poor human 
nature must greatly change, or he will never do it. 

" In further explanation of the causes of the apathy of 
politicians in relation to this subject, it may be remarked, 
that when the impost system was first introduced by Gen. 
Hamilton, it was warmly opposed by many republican 
members of Congress, but that northern politicians then 
endeavored to prevent, and have ultimately succeeded in 
preventing, the masses from comparing the systems of di- 
rect and indirect taxation, with respect to the inequality 
of their operation, because the northern statesman was 
anxious to protect our infant manufactories ; and the 
southern gentlemen, while they made loud professions of 



TARIFF OF 184G. 211 

. t 

free-tra.de principles, were desirous to conceal the odious 
features of indirect taxation, because a disclosure would 
produce a change which would subject their section of the 
country to pay a much larger portion of taxes than they 
pay under the present system ; and would result in the 
adoption of a mode of taxation which would require them, 
as the constitution intended, to pay for their slave repre- 
sentation. The free-trade st/stem which they advocate 
does indeed leave their trade free or nearly so, but it leaves 
the expenses of the government to be paid mainly by the 
laboring poor of the grain-growing states. 

" The signs of the times indicate that this great, ques- 
tion is about to receive the consideration by the statesmen 
and people of this nation, and especially by those of the 
northern, middle, and western states, which its importance 
eminently demands. 

" And, if upon a full and fair investigation, it shall be 
found that the ' incidental' protection afforded by a tariff 
for revenue alone will not sustain our manufactories, our 
sheep-growers, producers of iron, &c. — if it is contrary 
to the genius of our institutions, and Mr. Lewis admits 
that it is, that a citizen should be compelled to pay taxes 
without the possibility of knowing when and what amount 
of tax he pays — if the system of impost in its operation 
be unjust and unequal, as respects different sections of 
the nation — if by means of the slave representation, con- 
trary to the intention of the framers of the constitution, the 
sacred principle that taxation and representation should be 
proportioned, the one to the other, be by indirect taxation 
flagrantly violated — if the whole national revenue is to be 
extorted from the consumer, and therefore principally from 
the laboring poor — and, if by this system the people of 
the United States, in order to pay thirty millions of dollars 



212 BOSTON. 

into the treasury of the United States, are obliged actually 
to pay more than sixty millions of dollars, — I humbly con- 
ceive and ardently hope that at no distant day the course 
of legislation on the subject will be changed, and that it 
will be controlled by an avowed regard to protection for 
our manufacturers, growers, and producers ; or, that mere 
' incidental' protection will be abandoned and repudiated, 
and that a system of free trade, not nominal but real, 
Will be permanently established. 

" Yours truly, 

" T. Thornton." 



CHAPTER XT. 



The Anthor risits New England — Boston — Prejudices in New England 
against People of Color — A Female Abolitionist — Distinguished Citizens 
of the Slate of Xew York who belong to the Abohtion Party. 

In my excursions at the north, I had not travelled as 
much in New England, or made myself as well acquainted 
with " the Universal Yankee Nation" at home, as was de- 
sirable ; and therefore, in the summer of 1834, I deter- 
mined to spend the greater part of it in the celebrated, 
ancient, and interesting section which has been, and per- 
haps not inappropriately, called the Land of the Pilgrims. 

I went directly to Boston. This city, if we consider 
Cambridge as an appendage to it, claims to be, and in 
fact is, the Athens of America- Its Uterary coterie, and 
the periodical publications which issue from Boston and 
its vicinity, are of a higher character than any others on 
the continent. John Quincy Adams, Judge Story, the 



Everetts, the Quinoys. Bancrx^ti. Mr«< CliiM, .V< , Iirtv« 
acquired a ropuialion lor evionsive lemning, ^cnim, (ik/J 
scientific altainmoms. which ceriamly niMile ilnin if, t, 
distinguished station among the hlerati o( the iige, I iroiy 
also remark that Boston, in prv^pi^rtion ti> the iiiiinlicr of 
its inhabitants, is supjH>sod to contain more wciihh ihdn 
any other city in America. 

The people of New England jh^-sscss uiik h nf il,„t 
spirit of darmg enlerpnse which \*as exhihiled l.y Sir 
Walter Raleigh, Sir Francis Drake, and olherH, in I he 
time of Elizabeth of England, and wlurli marked the. 
character of the Reformer* in (•real Rntain, during the 
revolution which occurred in ihe reign of the elder Charles, 
— as well as the stem virtues of liie pilgrims who j)lantcfl 
themselves on the rock of Plymouth. Hut although the 
enterprising spirit of the Puritans, as respects the busi- 
ness concerns of life, has been transmitted to, and exists 
in full vigor in, the present generation of their descend- 
ants, the religious zeal and theological principles of a 
great majonly of the latter have undergone important and 
radical changes. A part of them, and a very large and 
respectable part, hare become Tnitarians ; some are 
Methodists, some Baptists, some Transcendenlalists, and 
others are Freethinkers, or Deists. The disciples of 
Fanny Wright meet, I am informed, regularly on Sun- 
days ; public lectures are delivered, and debates ate had, 
the object of which is to prove that the notion of a divine 
revelation is a fallacy. ^ 

With what horror and detestation would old Cotton 
Mather, or the venerable Governor \Vinthrop, or tin- zeal- 
ous and fanatical Sir Henry Vane, have vievvcid .smh a 
conventicle ! Not only the spiritual power, but the arm 
of flesh, would have been put in requiMition to exloruu- 



214 PREJUDICE AGAINST COLOR. 

nate such bold blasphemers. A remnant of the Puritans 
still remains, and their doctrines are yet taught in the theo- 
logical school at Andover ; but that ancient and venerable 
seat of learning, Harvard College, at Cambridge, has 
passed into the hands of, and is now controlled by, the 
Unitarians. It still, hov^^ever, retains its high character as 
a literary institution. 

The people of New England are firm advocates of 
equal rights, jealous of their personal liberty, and unani- 
mously opposed to African slavery ; and yet, in no part 
of America, and of course in no part of the habitable 
globe, is the prejudice against the color of the black man 
stronger than in New England. To prove this assertion, 
I will relate one or two instances which fell under my own 
observation. 

Many of the colored citizens of Boston are members 
of religious societies and congregations, the major part of 
which consists of white people. One Saturday evening, 
while I was in Boston, I was informed that a lecture pre- 
paratory to the administration of the sacrament would be 
delivered in one of the churches, and that the colored 
brethren of the congregation were especially requested to 
attend. This announcement induced me to go and hear 
the lecture. I found there more than a hundred male and 
female adult colored people. The preacher, after discus- 
sing the topics usual on such occasions, addressed himself 
particularly to his colored brothers and sisters, as he called 
them. He t(ild them that it had pleased God to establish 
a difference between them and their white brethren ; that 
they must not repine nor complain because they were 
doomed to an inferior station in society. He reminded 
them of the sin of their ancestor Ham, on whose account 
they were degraded by the fiat of a just God ; that they 



A FEMALE ABOLITIONIST. 215 

must not imagine themselves socially equal to the white 
Christians because they were permitted to sit with them 
at tiie communion-table ; and that spiritual pride was at 
war with a truly Christian spirit. He exhorted them not to 
aspire in society to equality with their white brethren ; he 
charged them never to forget their place in community, or 
in the church ; he recommended humility as a Christian 
virtue, which they in particular ought to possess ; and 
concluded by charging them to sit together during the ad- 
ministration of the ordinance, at the same time assuring 
them that they should be served immediately after their 
white brethren had partaken of the sacrament. Can such 
rehgious instruction tend to the diffusion of the Christian 
virtues, or the moral elevation of the negro race ? I con- 
fess I left the assembly with feelings more indignant than 
charitable. 

A day or two after attending this meeting I took my 
seat in a stage-coach for the purpose of going to Wor- 
cester, an old inland town in Massachusetts. There were 
but two other passengers, and botli were females. One 
of them was an old lady whom I had before seen in 
Boston, and the other was a gayly-dressed woman of per- 
haps twenty-eight or thirty years of age. Her counte- 
nance was a little tinged with melancholy, but she had, if 
not a handsome, rather an intellectual face. She ap- 
peared disposed to be quite sociable, and I soon found she 
was a single woman, and kept a boarding-school in one of 
the country towns about twenty miles from Boston. We 
talked on various subjects, and she afforded evidence that 
she had read a good many books, and especially all the 
novels then in vogue. vShe was particularly eloquent in 
praise of Sir Walter Scott. Accidentally the abolition 
societies, which were then forming in Massachusetts, were 



216 A FEMALE ABOLITIONIST. 

spoken of, and the outbreak of the mob which had lately- 
occurred at Lynn. The lady declared herself a zealous 
abolitionist, and denounced with great bitterness the slave- 
holders of the south. I told her J believed that some of 
them were benevolent and good men ; but this slie sternly 
contradicted. I urged in excuse for the slaveholder his 
pecuniary interest, and the effect of education, and in the 
course of my remarks said that I myself was born a slave, 
and had been emancipated by the benevolence of the 
person who owned me. 

" How can that be possible ?" said the lady : " I thought 
none but negroes could be enslaved anywhere." 

I told her that my mother was a mulatto woman and 
slave, and that I was at least one quarter of negro blood. 
She bridled up, appeared alarmed and offended, and re- 
marked, with great solemnity, that it was highly improper 
for negroes, or those related to them, to attempt to asso- 
ciate with white people. 

" Folks," she said, " ought to know their places ;" and 
turning to the old lady, she said, " travelling in public con- 
veyances was becoming every day worse and worse regu- 
lated." 

After this courteous speech she maintained a dignified 
silence, which of course I did not attempt to disturb. 

If I had leisure, and could presume on the patience of 
the reader, I could write a volume on the peculiar habits 
and modes of thinking of the people of New England, and 
on the incidents which occurred during the three months 
which I spent among them ; but fearmg that my lucubra- 
tions will become tedious to those who may condescend 
to peruse these sheets, and being myself just now pre- 
paring to make a journey to Paris, and probably to the 
eternal city, old Rome, I will close for the present by 



ABOLITION SOCIETY. 217 

Stating, that in my judgment the masses ia New England 
are better educated, and possess more general information, 
than the masses of any other people ; but that they them- 
selves estimate their superiority to be much greater than 
it really is. We have been long since admonished, by an 
eminent poet, that " a little learning is a dangerous thing," 
and each man in New England has " a little learning." 
He, therefore, easily persuades himself that he knows a 
great deal : he linds his neighbors know about as much 
as he does, and he and his neighbors, with great unanimity 
and complacency, arrive at the conclusion that they are 
vastly superior in intellectual attainments to any other por- 
tion of the human race. I by no means intend these re- 
marks as apphcable to the highest class of educated men 
in the land of the Pilgrims. I speak of the masses only. 

Both the English and American reader, who is at all 
acquainted with the history of the non-slaveholding states 
in America, know that a short time before the period about 
which I am now writing, a few intelligent and benevolent 
citizens formed an association at Philadelphia, with the 
declared object of attempting to effect, by peaceable means 
and by moral suasion, the abolition of slavery in the United 
States. The object of the association was laudable, and 
evidently addressed itself to the best feelings of the patriot 
and the philanthropist. The reasons why so few of the 
merchants, of the manufacturers, of the politicians, and 
of the clergy, joined this association, are well set forth by 
my friend Thornton in his conversation with Mr. Lundy.* 
Unfortunately those few who did become members of this 
society were not practical men, but were governed more 
by theoretical notions than by actual experience, or they 
were over-zealous religionists. The most efficient and 

* See Chapter VII. 



218 ABOLITIONISTS IN NEW YORK. 

influential men among them were citizens of the great 
slate of New York ; and during my visits to that state, 
whether with a view to business or pleasure, I took pains, 
from the deep interest I felt in the great enterprise in 
which they were engaged, to become personally acquainted 
with several of them. 

Arthur Tappan, an importing merchant of the city of 
New York, was, I believe, the first president of the society. 
Mr. Tappan pursues with great zeal every scheme which 
he projects as a merchant, or as a member of the Presby- 
terian church. I am not aware that he has ever permitted 
himself to take much interest in political contests, except 
the part which he has taken in opposition to negro slavery. 
He and his brother Lewis, however, are zealously and 
sincerely engaged in efforts to promote the diff'usion of 
abolition principles ; but not having been trained as com- 
batants in political contests, and being actively engaged in 
extensive commercial transactions, they have never been 
able to produce much effect, or make any considerable 
number of converts to the cause of abolitionism in the 
great city of New York. 

The Hon. William Jay, whose residence is chiefly at 
his country seat in Westchester county, in the mansion 
house of his venerable and venerated father, Gov. John 
Jay, well known and highly esteemed, both in England 
and America, is undoubtedly one of the most efficient and 
able friends of universal emancipation of the present age. Of 
this gentleman, of his quiet and retired life, of his distin- 
guished talents, and of the entire absence of all selfish mo- 
tives which in the least control his action,! have already spo- 
ken.* He may justly be styled the Wilberforce of America. 

* See Chapter XII. Judfje Jay has written and published many valuable 
anti-slavery treatises. — Editor. 



GERRIT SMITH. 219 

Gerrit Smith, Esq., of Madison county, is a conscien- 
tious and zealous abolitionist. Mr. Smith is one of the largest 
land holders in the state of New York. He is constitutionally 
a man of universal, ardent benevolence. He first distin- 
guished himself as a patron of the Colonization Society ; 
and soon after he came into the possession of his large 
estate, he subscribed $10,000, to be expended by that 
society. But he afterwards satisfied himself that its ope- 
rations, instead of enfranchising, would tend to rivet the 
chains of the slave. He therefore became a zealous, libe- 
ral, and working member of the abolition party. Mr. 
Smith's personal appearance is very prepossessing. His 
heart and hand are open to relieve the wants and distresses 
of all men. Though he has not been bred to any profes- 
sion, he is an interesting and accomplished orator, and his 
public addresses are always well received, and produce 
great efiect. Impelled by a high sense of duty, he, to whom 
wealth, talents, and personal popularity seemed to prom- 
ise the highest honors of the Empire State, sacrificed all 
those fascinating and brilliant prospects, so well calculated 
to dazzle the youthful mind, for the sake of advocating 
the cause of the degraded and down-trodden slave. A 
God of infinite benevolence will reward him.* But these 
men, however conscientious or pure may be their mo- 



* Mr. Smith has recently made a donation of one hundred and twen- 
ty THOUSAND ACRES of land, lying in the state of New York, to be divided 
equally among three thousand colored men. Of course each of the donees 
are entitled to forty acres of land. This munificent gift, probably greater in 
value than has ever been bestowed by any individual citizen of the state, it is 
hoped will be of essential use in promoting the comfort and elevating tho 
character of our colored population. It will draw into the country a large 
portion of them from our cities and villages, who eitlier idle away their 
time, or are engaged in servile employments. When thus removed from 



220 ALVAN STEWART. 

tives, or however great and shining their talents, are 
not calculated, in the present state of society in New 
York, to form and build up a party which can obtain a 
political ascendency. The gentlemen I have mentioned 
inculcate only what they deem to be right, not what is 
expedient. They promise no office, nor its emolument. 
They devise no schemes or stratagems to detach men 
from other parties. They address themselves solely to 
the Consciences of tKeir fellow-citizens. They are, I 
think, too prescriptive. You cannot become a member 
of their party without you consent to occupy the bed of 
Procrustes. 

Alvan Stewart* is a lawyer of considerable emi- 
nence. He is a man of most intense and ardent feeling, 
and one of the most amusing speakers I ever heard. 
When disposed to excite the risibility of his hearers, the 
most grave audience cannot resist him. To avoid laugh- 
ing when he chooses to provoke laughter, " exceeds all 
power of face." His wit is of a singular character, if, 
indeed, that can be called wit which does not consist in 
keenness of repartee. Mr. Stewart excites laughter by 
an odd or rather queer combination of ideas. The fancy 
is amused and delighted by his jumbling together thoughts 
which no imagination but Mr. Stewart's could bring to- 
gether. He produces the same effects on the mind as the 
kaleidescope does on the sight. His illustrations, too, are 
original, unique, and wonderfully amusing. No man ever 

scenes which too often allure them to vice and crime, their time will be 
occupied in tlie independent and honorable employment of cultivating their 
own farms. 

None but Gerrit Smith would have done this. — Editor. 

* This gentleman was the candidate of the Liberty party for governor 
in 1844. — Eaitor. 



JULIUS R. AMES. 221 

possessed a more luxuriant imagination than Alvan Stew- 
art. He has read much, and his memory is very tena- 
cious, extending to names and dates and other minute 
particulars. 

All the gentlemen I have mentioned are pious, and, I 
fear, somewhat fanatical, except Mr. Jay, who is an Epis- 
copalian, and who, though undoubtedly a devout Chris- 
tian, is perfectly free from enthusiasm. 

1 cannot conclude this catalogue of leading abolitionists 
in the state of New York without naming one other gen- 
tleman, who, so far from being fanatical, is as zealous, 
and I may add, as honest a Deist, as Mr, Tappan or Mr. 
Smith are honest and zealous Presbyterians. That gen- 
tleman's name is Julius R. Ames, of Albany, the son of 
a celebrated painter of that city. Mr. Ames is a bachelor 
of easy fortune. He follows no profession or business, 
but devotes himself entirely to acts of charity and benevo- 
lence. He has been from a boy an ardent champion of 
equal rights,; and more consistent than many of our most 
distinguished democrats, Mr. Ames cannot believe that one 
man can rightfully own another. He has contributed much 
by his personal influence, by his purse, and by his labors 
with his pen, to advance the cause of anti-slavery. No 
matter whether a man is a Whig or a Democrat, (though 
Mr. A., I believe, belongs to the Democratic party,) a 
Catholic, a Jew, a Methodist, or a disciple of Fanny 
Wright, if he holds to the doctrine of equal rights, and is 
disposed to carry out that doctrine by removing the 
shackles from the slave, Mr. Ames hails him as a brother. 

Besides the gentlemen I have named, there are so many 
others, eminent for their talents and standing in society, 
who belong to the abolition party, that it may almost ap- 
pear invidious to have referred in particular to those 



222 OTHER FRIENDS OF NEGRO FREEDOM. 

individuals. There is also a great number of news- 
papers belonging to the party, published weekly, and 
some daily, which advocate with great zeal and abiliiv 
the cause of universal emancipation. I could name some 
of the ablest editors in America whose labors are devoted 
to this great and good cause. 

There are hkewise many distinguished individuals, who 
belong to one or other of the two great political parties, 
who, on all proper occasions, avow abolition principles, 
but who think it unwise to organize, or encourage the or- 
ganization, of a political party distinct from the other two 
parties. These gentlemen will be found, and in my judg- 
ment it is fortunate they can be found, in the ranks of 
both the great parties. Among these friends of liberty and 
of man, are William H. Seward, late governor of the 
state of New York ; Harmanus Bleeker, late the American 
diplomatic representative at the Court of the King of the 
Netherlands ; George P, Barker, late attorney-general 
of the state of New York ; Theodore Sedgwick, an able 
lawyer and eminent citizen of the city of New York ; Wil- 
liam C. Bryant, of the Evening Post, eminent, not only 
as an able, independent editor, but as a man of distin- 
guished genius ; the talented and philanthropic Horace 
Greeley, of the New York Tribune; and ThurlowWeed, 
of Albany, late printer to the state of New York. These 
gentlemen, in conjunction with many others, are, by their 
influence in society, and with their respective political 
parties, doing much for the cause of universal emancipa- 
tion, and for restoring the colored man to the station 
among men to which, by the laws of nature and nature's 
God, he is entitled. 

The abolitionists proper, or, as they now call them- 
selves, the Liberty party, considering the present state of 



ABOLITIONISTS. 223 

society in America, are not, in my opinion, calculated to 
gather or build up a political party which will ever attract 
to its standard a majority of the people. This is not ow- 
ing to any want of talent or personal merit in their lead- 
ers ; on the contrary, I do not believe that any party in the 
state of New York ever existed, which, in proportion to its 
numbers, contained more talent, and wealth, and personal 
worth. Their defect, in my judgment, consists in this. 
They lose sight of the maxim, that you must deal with the 
mass of mind according to its actual state and condition, 
and that you must address society as it is. The aboli- 
tionists, though they read their Bible much, forget that 
St. Paul, one of the most successful partisans that ever 
lived, became " all things to all men." "What opinion 
should we form of a physician who should direct the same 
regimen for a man exhausted with a wasting fever, as for 
the man in high health ? 



224 REV. THEODORE PARKER. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

Animadversions on the Sermon of the Rev Mr. Parker, of Boston — Tam- 
many Hall Resolutions on Negro Suffrage — Impudent interference of 
Mr. Ritchie — Character given by Mr. Clay of his man Charles — By 
Mr. Upshur of his slave, David Rich — Conclusion. 

London, April 30, 1846. 
This morning, in looking over a file of American news- 
papers, my attention was arrested by the following article, 
contained in one of the Boston journals. The article is 
headed, 

" AN AMERICAN CLERGYMAN's OPINION OF ENGLAND." 

" The Rev. Theodore Parker, of Roxbury, Massachu- 
setts," says the editor, " preached, for the first time since 
his return from Europe, last Sunday at his own church. 
A hearer reports the following as one of the passages of 
his discourse : 

" On arriving in Europe, the first sensation an Ameri- 
can traveller felt was the strangeness which pervaded the 
face of every thing — all bore the marks of stability, of age, 
and of the past — when here all w^as the reverse. He spoke 
of the brutality and degradation of the poor and laboring 
classes in England, as compared with the same classes 
here, and of the contempt widi which the British aristoc- 
racy regard man as man. There, things were held m 
higher estimation than man, — while here, with all our lust 
for gain, the divine nature of man was respected far above 
things. 



RECENT BRITISH IMPROVEMENTS. 225 

" England was, for the rich and noble, a paradise ; for 
the good and wise, a purgatory ; and, for the laboring 
poor, a hell. Although from the very depths of his heart 
he detested slavery, in all its forms, yet he should think 
the condition of the mass of the laboring classes there was 
sufficiently wretched and miserable to induce them to fall 
on their knees and beg to he admitted to the worst condi- 
tion of southern slavery. '''' 

It is true, the condition of the British laborer is very 
miserable, but that condition is in a great degree pro- 
duced by the high price of breadstuffs, which is occasion- 
ed by the corn laws. That cruel and oppressive mode 
of taxation on the necessaries for the subsistence of hu- 
man life is, however, being ameliorated, and well-founded 
hopes may now be cherished that the time will soon come 
when corn will be as cheap in London as in New York, 
with the trifling addition of the expense of transportation 
from the latter to the former place. 

An American writer, who, whatever may have been his 
faults or his errors on other questions, appears well ac- 
quainted with the recent changes which have occurred in 
England, when speaking of the improvements lately made 
by the English in their laws, and in their social relations 
and commercial affairs, says : — 

" Since 1819, Britain has destroyed her rotten borough 
representation in the three kingdoms, and given Man- 
chester, Birmingham, Leeds, Sheffield, Edinburgh, Aber- 
deen, Dundee, Greenock, and other populous communi- 
ties, a voice in her parliament. She has put down the 
usurped borough governments which obtained in her 
towns and cities ; given the towns improved municipal 
charters, with the power of electing their mayors, alder- 
men, &c., and improving the condition of, and educating 

15 



226 RECENT BRITISH IMPROVEMENTS. 

the masses. She has broken down, in Ireland, the close 
borough system, insomuch that the proscription and fa- 
voritism of old times are at an end, and Daniel O'Conneir, 
a Roman Catholic, has been mayor of Dublin. She has 
reduced the seven cent stamp duty on newspapers to two 
cents, mail postage included — and has led the way to a 
reduction of letter postage, charging only two cents for a 
letter, any distance, — charged by us yet five to ten, and 
for which she formerly exacted ten cents to half a crown, 
while we demanded six cents to fifty. She has neither 
broken down the Bank of England nor a paper currency, 
but she has changed an irredeemable paper circulating 
medium into gold and silver for all sums under $25 ; and her 
$25, and higher denominations of bank notes are redeema- 
ble always in gold at the Bank of England, which is under 
an efficient supervision, including real publicity, and no 
safety-fund political machinery to mar its usefulness. 

"Britain, too, since 1819, has emancipated both Prot- 
estants and Catholics, — the latter from many grievous dis- 
abilities, which had previously made them a discontented, 
persecuted people — and the former, when dissenters from 
the Protestant Episcopal church, by removing the test 
acts and oppressions which kept Presbyterians, Quakers, 
Independents, Methodists, in many cases, out of places 
of power and trust ; has endowed many 'schools in Ire- 
land, and some in England ; encouraged mechanics' in- 
stitutes, and the spread of scientific knowledge ; and les- 
sened the disabilities under which the Jews suffered. She 
has made many and valuable reforms in her colonies ; 
given the Canadians the local administration of their town- 
ship and county affairs, lent them large sums of money, 
given them munificent grants for canals and railroads, lent 
them millions and endorsed the loans, and done much for 



RECENT BRITISH IMPROVEMENTS. 227 

the numbers of wretched, hopeless victims who pine in 
shackles. While ive are doing our very best to increase 
the numbers of ivretched, hopeless victims who pine in 
slavery, and cursing new regions of God's earth with that 
horrid scourge, Britain has paid nearly four hundred mil- 
lions uf dollars to blot out African bondage from the face 
of the earth; she has greatly improved her jury and libel 
laws ; she has humanized her penal code ; she has done 
more than we, within the last thirty years, to make the 
civil code clear, distinct, and suitable to the condition of 
society and her institutions. The cruel restrictions on a 
free press, which banished many and imprisoned more, 
are chiefly repealed ; the navigation laws reduced into 
one act ; excellent amendments made in many of her 
courts of justice, as to their procedure ; her stamp duties 
lessened ; and while salt, soap, tea, sugar, coffee, and a 
thousand other things of more or less utility, are either 
freed from taxation, or the tax on them lessened at least 
fifty millions a year — a direct tax of twelve cents per 
pound is laid on the incomes of all men worth over seven 
hundred dollars a year, whether from bank stock or broad 
acres, but persons under seven hundred dollars a year in- 
come pay none of it. Not long since she took three mil- 
lions of dollars, yearly duty, off American cotton ; and 
she prohibits the growth of tobacco in the United King- 
dom, giving us the virtual monopoly of supplying her. 
Under the proposed system of trade, Buffalo and Lock- 
port will soon have as deep an interest in peace with 
England as Charleston now has. These, and many other 
changes for the better, including the breaking up of the 
monopoly of the East India Company to supply teas, and 
trade between India and the United Kingdom, the reduc- 
tion of the tithe system, especially in Ireland, and the 



228 REV, THEODORE PARKER. 

expenditure of many millions on railroads, turnpikes, ca- 
nals, bridges, and an infinite number of other useful 
works, are only a pari of the recent reforms." 

Mr. Parker, who claims to be an ambassador of the 
benevolent Jesus, and of the great and kind Father of all 
human souls, speaks of the " Divine nature of man," 
which he says in America " is respected." Alas ! how is 
the divine nature of man respected in the slaveholding 
states in America ? What people in any age, in any part 
of the globe, have so shamelessly and barbarously out- 
raged the dignity of human nature as the American slave- 
holders ? The reverend gentleman affords evidence in 
the very next sentence he uttered, that this assertion was 
not hastily made, and that when he challenges the appro- 
bation of his audience for the evidence manifested by the 
American people of their regard for the " Divine nature 
of man," he had in his view negro slavery; for he imme- 
diately adds, that the condition of the laboring classes in 
England is worse than that of the American slave, and so 
much worse, that the English laborer would " fall down 
on his knees and beg to be admitted to the worst condi- 
tion of southern slavery." 

Mr. Parker well knew that the aegis of the law is thrown 
around the poorest Englishman ; that his person is sa- 
cred ; that he has the unrestricted right of locomotion ; 
that he can choose his employer ; that if dissatisfied 
with his wages or his country, it depends on his own vo- 
lition whether he will emigrate to another country ; thai 
the "world is all before him," and that even the monarch 
on his throne has not power to restrain him in this exercise 
of his own sovereign will and pleasure. Nay, more, — that 
if he elects to seek his fortune in America, either in the 
British provinces or the United States, facilities are fur- 



TAMMANV HALL MEETING. 229 

nished by the British public to enable him to effectuate 
his intention. Such a man thus situated, Mr. Parker af- 
firms, would on his knees beg to become the property of 
the southern slaveholder. Mr. Parker knows that the 
slave has no more power over himself than the ox or the. 
sheep. That both the slave and his posterity are divested 
of all linman rights, — that he is turned into a thing; that 
his flesh and bones belong to another, and are therefore 
liable to be lacerated or made an article of merchandise, 
iil the pleasure of the owner. And yet the pious Mr. 
Parker solemnly declares, that the condition of such a 
creature is preferable to that of the free-born and free 
English laborer ! Mr. Parker knew better. He knew he 
uttered a falsehood, a vile and wicked falsehood ; and he 
chose the sacred desk, while engaged in the solemn dis- 
charge of the duties of his office as an ambassador of the 
God of heaven, for the place and time of publishing that 
wilful lie. He uttered and published that lie in entire 
disregard of the rights and sufferings of three millions of 
his fellow-men, for the mean and pitiful purpose of ob- 
taining an approving smile from the southern slaveholder 
and his northern advocate. And this man prates about 
his detestation of slavery ! Pshaw ! From my soul 
I abhor and scorn the sanctimonious hypocrite, and 
the fool who believes and the knave who affects to be- 
lieve him. 

I also observe in the New York papers the report of the 
proceedings of a meeting at Tammany Hall on the 19th 
day of December, 1845, of democratic citizens burning 
w-ith zeal for the extension and preservation of equal 
RIGHTS, assembled for the purpose of expressing their 
views in relation to the amendments which ought to be 
made by the then anticipated Convention, to the Consti- 



230 MEETING AT TAMMANY HALL. 

tution of the stale of New York. At that meeting the 
following resolution was adopted : 

" That the distinction established in the present con- 
stitution between the people of color, allowing such of 
them as have property to vote, and excluding others, is 
an anti-republican distinction, as the possession of prop- 
erty is not the test of intelligence and worth ; and that as 
we are therefore driven to the alternative of excludine all 
or allowing all of these people to vole, we are most deci- 
dedly of the opinion that all should be excluded. We can- 
not regard them as belonging to the race to which the 
government of this country is committed ; that there is 
a natural antipathy between the races, founded on strong 
natural and physical differences, forbidding social or po- 
litical amalgamation ; that the allerapl to unite the races 
by constitutional or legal provisions, has signally failed in 
this state already ; that a constitutional provision, not in 
accordance with public sentiment in this respect, would 
again fail in elevating the colored race to a practical par- 
ticipation in the government of this state, and that it is 
most unwise to adopt any constitutional provision which 
will not, in fact, be sustained by public sentiment, or to 
attempt to malie such sentiment conform to a constitu- 
tional provision." 

It appears to me that the historj'- of the United States, 
for the last half century, renders the probability greater 
that the free states will become slaveholding, than that the 
slaveholding states will abolish slavery. From present 
indications it is pretty obvious, that if the free states con- 
tinue to repudiate the institution of slavery, it will be from 
considerations growing out of the establislied doctrines of 
political economy, or in other words, from a calculation 



NEW YORK CONSTITUTION OF 1821, 231 

of profit and loss, and not from a regard to principle, or 
to human rights. 

During the Revolution, in the year 1777, John Jay, 
George Clinton, Robert R. Livingston, and others, the 
patriots of that day, formed a constitution for the state of 
New York, by which an equal right of suffrage was ex- 
tended to all citizens, without regard to color. In 1821, 
that constitution was revised, and although the exercise 
of the right of suffrage by white citizens was greatly ex- 
tended, it was much restricted as respects the blacks. 
While no property qualification was required of the white 
man, the colored citizen was not permitted to vote unless 
he was the owner of a freeliold estate worth at least 
$250. At that time, as it has been for forty out of forty- 
eight years, the office of president was held by a slave- 
holder. A majority of the convention of 1821 were the 
political friends of the President, and that majority, in de- 
spite of an able and zealous opposition* from the political 
opponents of the President, adopted the clause to which 
I have referred. t 

If the object contemplated by the resolution I have 



* There was but one dissentient, Chief-Justice Spencer. 

t It ought to be mentioned that in 1821 there were many slaves in the 
state of New York, but that by a law passed in 1816, all were to be free 
on the fourth day of July, 1827. Tf by the provisions of the constitution 
the same right of suffrage had been granted to the black as to the white 
citizen, all who in 1827 should become free would the next day be enti- 
tled to vote for any officer of the government. In view of this, it was 
apprehended that the class of men thus suddenly emerging from slavery 
would be an unsafe depository of the elective franchise. Col. Young, who 
was a leading democratic member of the convention, avowed this as the 
principal ground on which he supported the restriclion. Undoubtedly many 
other real friends of the rights of men, whether black or white, voted for 
the restriction for the same reason. — Editor. 



I 



't! 



232 NEGRO SUFFRAGE. 

quoted should be carried into effect by the convention and 
people of New York, it will be another advance towards 
what the south most ardently desire, the degradation of 
the negro race in the free states. That the meeting at 
Tammany was induced to adopt the resolution with a 
view to afford a proof of their devotion to the slaveholding 
administration now in power, there can be no doubt. In- 4; 

deed, this very resolution was indicated, by the government 
organ at Washington, as proper to be adopted as an evi- 
dence of the fealty of the faithful of the city of New 
York ; and more especially, as a test of the obedience of .^ 

those who participated in the drippings from the custom- 
house in that port. Yes, a government newspaper editor* 
liad the impudence to command the people of an indepen- % 

dent state, as an evidence of their allegiance to the south- 
ern dynasty, to disfranchise forty thousand of their native- 
born citizens ! To this mandate the above resolution was 
the humble response. I observe, too, that a Mr. Forney, 
said to have come from Philadelphia, but who may have 
been a confidential agent of the President, was in attend- 
ance, and harangued the meeting, and in other respects 
was very active in teaching the New York democrats what 
sort of a constitution they ought to have. It will be seen ii 

hereafter that those who are the most zealous, loud, and '''^ 

boisterous against negro suffrage, if they are not now 
participants of the pecuniary favors of the general gov- 
ernment, will soon be rewarded by lucrative offices, which 
will be bestowed on them by the President. Which class - 

of men are the most safe depositories of the power to elect 
law-makers, those who barter their votes and their influ- 
ence with the national executive for lucrative appoint- 

* Mr. Ritcliie. 



NEGRO SUFFRAGE. 233 

ments, or that race of men who have the misfortune to 
have a black or darkened skin, Vk^ho ask nothing, and ex- 
pect nothing from the government but good laws and pro- 
lection of their property, persons, and lives ? 

But, say the democrats of Tammany Hall, there is a 
difference between the two races, and therefore, although 
the negro race are natives of the slate, though their indus- 
try contributes to the aggregate wealth of the country, 
though their services administer to the convenience and 
ease of the luxurious and wealthy, though they pay their 
proportion of the taxes of the country, though they are 
subject to its laws, and when invaded, shed their blood in 
its defence, we, the friends of equal rights, will be the 
governors, and they shall be the governed. True, there 
is a difference between the two races. The skin of the 
one race is white, and that of the other black. So among 
the Tammany democrats — I presume there may have 
been some ten men who had red hair, and all the rest 
flax-colored or black hair. What if the meeting had voted 
that every man 'who had red hair should be disfranchised, 
or that no Albino should exercise the right of suffrage ? 
What would the democracy have said of such a vote ? 

But it is said that the negroes in the free states are a 
degraded class of men, and that they are not sufficiently 
enlightened to exercise judiciously the right of suffrage. 
That they are a degraded people I admit, but who caused 
their degradation ? No man who claims any standing in 
society will deny that it is the duty of the whites to 
endeavor to elevate the character and moral standing of 
the negroes. Is depriving them of all political power, by 
robbing them of the right of suffrage, calculated to elevate 
their standing and character ? Is it not rather fixing upon 
them the indelible stamp of degradation ? Is it not taking 



234 OPINIONS OF CLAY AND UPSHUR. 

from them all human inducement to exert themselves to 
acquire knowledge, and a reputation for virtue and talents ? 
Why, then, in a state claiming to be free, — why, I say, 
by the organic law, doom forty thousand people to politi- 
cal slavery ? Are the negroes naturally inferior to the 
whiles ? Hear what Henry Clay says of a negro born 
and educated a slave : 

" Know all men by these presents, that I, Henry Clay, 
of Ashland, for and in consideration of the fidelity, attach- 
ment, and services of Charles Dupey, (the son of Aaron, 
commonly called Charles, and Charlotte,) and my esteem 
and regard for him, do hereby liberate and emancipate the 
said Charles Dupey, from all obligation of service to me, 
or my representatives, investing him, as far as any act of 
mine can invest, with all the rights and privileges of a 
freeman. 

" In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand 
and affixed my seal, this 9th day of December, in the year 
of our Lord, 1844. 

"H. Clay, [l. s.] 
" Sealed and delivered in the presence of 

" Thomas H. Clay." 

The Hon. Abel P. Upshur, late Secretary of State, an 
amiable and excellent man, although a zealous advocate 
for slavery, has left on record the following opinion of one 
of that race, whom the Tammany champions for equal 
rights think constitutionally incapable and unfit to be in- 
trusted with the right to vote at the elections : 

" I emancipate and set free my servant David Rich, 
and direct my executors to give him one hundred dollars. 
1 recommend him in the strongest manner to the respect. 



CONCLUSION 235 

esteem, and confidence of any community in which he 
may happen to live. He has been my slave for twenty- 
four years, during all which time he has been trusted to 
every extent and in every respect. My confidence in him 
has been unbounded : his relation to myself and family 
has been such as to afford him daily opportunities to de- 
ceive and injure us, and yet he has never been detected 
in any serious fault, nor even in an intentional breach of 
the decorums of his station. His i?iteUigence is of a high 
order, his integrity above all suspicion, and his sense of 
7'ight and propriety correct and even refined. I feel that 
he is justly entitled to carry this certificate from me in 
the new relations which he must now form. It is due to 
his long and most faithful services, and to the sincere 
and steady friendship which I bear him. In the uninter- 
rupted and confidential intercourse of twenty-four years, 
I have never given nor had occasion to give him an un- 
pleasant word. I know no man tvho has fewer faults or 
more excellences than he.''"' 

I cannot forbear to express my surprise and deep re- 
gret that so good a man as Judge Upshur unquestionably 
was, should have permitted himself to exert his influence, 
officially and personally, in favor of the annexation of 
Texas, for the avowed purpose of extending the power of 
holding in slavery, and sinking to the level of brutes, such 
men as David Rich. 

In closing these memorandums and desultory remarks, 
already extended far more than was originally intended, 
and in terminating the history of my life, I can only state 
that my fixed resolution is to end my days here, on the 
island of England — here, where castes on account of the 
complexion or the color of the skin are unknown — here, 
on a soil, which, the moment it is trodden by the slave 



236 CONCLUSION, 

of Democratic America, the chains fall from him, and he 
is transformed, by the mighty power of " the genius of 
universal emancipation," from a thing to an intellectual 
beinff. * * * * . 

And yet I love " my own, my native land ;" yet I rec- 
ollect, with melancholy pleasure, her spacious bays, her 
extensive and fertile plains, her broad rivers, and ]ier lofty 
and majestic mountains. Gladly would I exchange the 
fine views in the neighborhood of the old town of War- 
wick, for those presented by the valley of the Potomac ; 
and even the solemn and august towers of this renowned 
Gothic castle, fail to interest my feelings when I think of 
the mansion-house of my early and venerable friend Col. 
Boyd. The sunny south is still dear to me. Nay, more, % 

— the warm-hearted, generous, enthusiastic, and gallant 
southerner, notwithstanding all the persecutions and suf- 
ferings I have endured from southern citizens, still chal- 
lenges my respect and admiration. 

" America ! with all thy faults I love thee still." 
But, aside from my love and affection for the country 
which gave me birth, I cannot but regard with deep and 
thrilling interest the experiment commenced by the patri- 
ots of the new world in 1776, which must decide the 
great question, whether man is capable of governing him- 
self. This experiment is still being made, and enlight- 
ened and benevolent men in every part of the globe at this 
moment contemplate its result with an anxiety the most 
intense, mingled with gloomy and painful apprehensions. 
Conscious of this, I cannot suppress my own ardent aspi- 
rations for the continuance of the union of the people of 
that glorious country. But, alas ! a dark and portentous 
cloud is gathering, from which, ere long, a tempest will 
burst on that heaven-favored land. In the midst of the 



iiL 



CONCLUSION. 237 

body politic, there is a foul and deadly canker which is 
corroding its vitals. In that great country, claiming to be 
the only free country on earth, man claims to be the owner 
of his fellow-man, and a more galHng and inhuman system 
of slavery exists than ever did in any age or in any quar- 
ter of the world. It has been already shown, that the 
relation between master and slave is that of war — unmiti- 
gated and interminable — it may be an exterminating war. 
Yes, there are three millions of people — not, it is true, 
embodied together in martial order and drawn up in regu- 
lar battalia, but who are to be found in the fields, in the 
workshops, and at the firesides of their enemies. The 
day will come — the dreadful day will come, (may a mer- 
ciful God put far away that day,) when the rich -rice and 
cotton fields of the south will be drenched with human 
gore, when the quiet retreats of the domestic circle will 
be stained with the blood of " wife, children, and friends," 
— and when the gorgeous palaces which now adorn the 
southern plantations will be enveloped in flames. * * * * 
Emancipation by the peaceable and voluntary enactment 
of laws by the legislatures of the slaveholding states, is 
the only means of averting these evils. 

And is there no hope that these means will be adopted ? 
There is none, or at most very little, from the efforts or 
influence of the free slates. They have no right to inter- 
fere with the domestic regulations of the other states. 
Slavery, by the national constitution, as it is construed, is 
guarded by impregnable barriers from attacks by the sis- 
ter states. It is sustained by the ecclesiastical, commer- 
cial, and manufacturing interests of the north and west, 
as well as by the ill-founded but inveterate prejudices 
aaainst color, of the less-informed but most numerous 
class of the people. There can be no hope of the slave 



238 



CONCLUSION. 



for liberation from the political power of the free stales, 
so long as they continue to vest the patronage of the na 
tion and the national executive power in the hands of 
slaveholders.* But may we not cherish the expectation, 
that in this enlightened age of the world, patriotic and be- 
nevolent men will rise up in these same slaveholding 
states, possessing so large a portion of virtue, love of 
justice, and moral courage, as to induce them to assert 
and defend the rights of man — to exhibit in bold relief the 
blighting effects of slavery, and to warn the slaveholder 
of his impending danger ? I will not believe that the 
race of Jeffersons and Wythes has become extinct. Al- 
ready has the noble-minded and self-devoted Cassius M. 
Clay, at the hazard of his property and life, avowed him- 
self the friend of universal emancipation. 

Oh ! if some great and good man— some master-spirit 
of the south — some John C. Calhoun, could divest him- 
self of the prejudices of education, and the influence of 
his sectional and interested friends, and, like the patriotic 
and self-devoted Cassius M. Clay of the west, bow to 
the genius of universal emancipation, and declare himself 
for the equal rights and dignity of man as man, and carry 
with him, as he unquestionably would, the hearts of the 

* The discussions in Congress last winter on the Wilmot Proviso, and 
the avowals made on that occasion by the representatives of the slave- 
holding states, it is believed, have induced a course of reflection among 
the citizens of the free states, which will cause those states to support as 
their next presidential candidate, a man who is opposed to the further ex- 
tension of slavery. Should one of the two great parties support a can- 
didate on the principle contained in the Wilmot proviso, such a party 
would carry with it the hearts of an immense majority of the people, and 
the result would prove that Mr. Melbourn is iu an error when he affirms, 
or rather intimates, that the political power of the north and west never 
will be exerted against slavery. — Editor. 



i 



CONCLUSION. 239 

true chivalry of the south — what a halo of glory would 
cluster around his brow — how undying, how imperishable 
would be his fame ! If he who saved the life, or res- 
cued from captivity, a single citizen of Rome, merited the 
laurel crown, what immortal honors would that man 
achieve, who should unbind the chains and open the pris- 
on doors of three millions of native Americans ! 



THE END. 



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